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Top 100 executives paid $8.5 million compared to average worker's salary of $38,998
Ottawa (3 Jan. 2008) At 10:33 a.m. on New Year's Day, top Canadian chief executive officers (CEOs) had already "earned" more money than the average Canadian worker will make in all of 2008.
A new analysis of escalating CEO compensation compiled by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) reveals that the 100 highest-paid CEOs working for companies whose stock is publicly traded earned an average $8.5 million in 2006 - the latest statistics available.
Levels were no doubt higher in 2007. This compares to an average worker's annual pay of $38,998. The top paid CEO in the Top 100 club collected $55 million in 2006 (more than a million a week). The bottom member of the club got a $3-million pay cheque.
Canada's top CEOs now make 218 times as much as the average Canadian full-time worker. The level has more than doubled from a rate of 104 times in 1998.
NUPGE
The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) is one of Canada's largest labour organizations with over 340,000 members. Our mission is to improve the lives of working families and to build a stronger Canada by ensuring that our common wealth is used for the common good. NUPGE
More information
The Great CEO Pay Race: Over Before It Begins - pdf
(Published as n03ja08b.htm)