NZ staff endure customer anger over pays
(29 November 2010 – New Zealand) A letter from the chief executive of Westpac New Zealand, George Frazis, indicates that staff across the Tasman are also copping flak from customers venting their frustration over the excess executive salaries.
In an email to staff, Mr Frazis apologised for them having had to bear the brunt of the 'ongoing discussions in the media about my remuneration package for the year'.
'In particular I am very conscious that our people, especially those in the front line, have to face customer queries about the topic,' he says in the letter to the bank's 5500 staff last week. 'I am sorry you have to bear the brunt of these public discussions.'
Mr Frazis' salary is about twice that of fellow Australian chief executives at ANZ National Bank and Bank of New Zealand and has prompted calls for salary controls.
ASB Bank, owned by the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, has not disclosed what it pays its chief executive.
In defending his income, Mr Frazis wrote that his salary was approved by the Westpac board and was 'commensurate with the skills that are expected of the CEO role'. A significant proportion of his package was dependant on future performance.
A Westpac report shows that Mr Frazis received short-term payments of A$2.5m, including fixed pay and super of A$982,000 and short-term incentives of A$1.29m in cash. Share-based benefits were valued at A$1.5m.
Andrew Campbell, of bank workers' union Finsec, said the letter showed 'that Westpac customers have clearly shown a displeasure' with Mr Frazis' pay.
But it did not acknowledge or address 'the real issue', which was the significant wage inequality that existed between top management and workers.
'It would be better for him to apologise directly to customers, or provide some justification to the public as to why he received such a high salary during a period when many New Zealanders were suffering economically.'
Mr Frazis' boss in Australia, Gail Kelly, is in line for A$55 million ($70m), making her the queen of banking, if shareholders give their blessing to another round of long-term share incentives.
The New Zealand head of Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Sir Ralph Norris, saw his total pay package for the past year jump 75 per cent to A$16.1m.
'In particular I am very conscious that our people, especially those in the front line, have to face customer queries about the topic,' he says in the letter to the bank's 5500 staff last week. 'I am sorry you have to bear the brunt of these public discussions.'
Mr Frazis' salary is about twice that of fellow Australian chief executives at ANZ National Bank and Bank of New Zealand and has prompted calls for salary controls.
ASB Bank, owned by the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, has not disclosed what it pays its chief executive.
In defending his income, Mr Frazis wrote that his salary was approved by the Westpac board and was 'commensurate with the skills that are expected of the CEO role'. A significant proportion of his package was dependant on future performance.
A Westpac report shows that Mr Frazis received short-term payments of A$2.5m, including fixed pay and super of A$982,000 and short-term incentives of A$1.29m in cash. Share-based benefits were valued at A$1.5m.
Andrew Campbell, of bank workers' union Finsec, said the letter showed 'that Westpac customers have clearly shown a displeasure' with Mr Frazis' pay.
But it did not acknowledge or address 'the real issue', which was the significant wage inequality that existed between top management and workers.
'It would be better for him to apologise directly to customers, or provide some justification to the public as to why he received such a high salary during a period when many New Zealanders were suffering economically.'
Mr Frazis' boss in Australia, Gail Kelly, is in line for A$55 million ($70m), making her the queen of banking, if shareholders give their blessing to another round of long-term share incentives.
The New Zealand head of Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Sir Ralph Norris, saw his total pay package for the past year jump 75 per cent to A$16.1m.
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