PM act - don't squeal about fat cats

Date: 26 May 2003

John Howard should stop squealing about fat cat chief executives like the former boss of BHP Billiton, LHMU National Secretary, Jeff Lawrence, told the Senate Inquiry into Poverty today.

" Jaw-jaw doesn't work on these overpaid executives," Jeff Lawrence said.

" A report released last week effectively demonstrates that over-paid executives are bad for our economy.

" It's time the PM acted to deliver better jobs and a better economy by restraining fat cat pay deals."

Mr Lawrence also raised at the Inquiry his concerns that the Australian Hotels Association (AHA) regularly feels free to call for wage restraint by low-waged workers but when a Sydney hotel worker wants to put an alternative view to the Senators the worker's bosses, members of the AHA, act to ensure he can't speak out.

" We've asked the Senate Inquiry to rule if this is in any way a contempt of the Senate for a hotel employer to threaten the economic livelihood of an LHMU member who wants to give evidence to Senators," Jeff Lawrence said.

Jeff Lawrence was presenting the 130,000 member LHMU's 33-page submission to the Senate Inquiry into Poverty in Sydney today.

A key recommendation of the LHMU in their submission is for an accountability process for the impact of spiralling CEO salaries on increasing levels of inequality in Australia.

" If low-waged workers are forced to go through an annual minimum wage case to justify their pay increases, we don't see why the government should not introduce a second inquiry into how the wages at the top should be restrained

" Rather than restraining the wages of the people at the bottom we should look to ways of restraining the over paid executives."

The LHMU proudly represents around 130,000 hard working women and men throughout Australia

For further info:

Jeff Lawrence, LHMU Hotel Union National Secretary, 8204 7200 or 0425 242 724

LaborNET is proudly created, designed and programmed
by Social Change Online for the Labor Council of NSW
[Credits] [Site Matters]