Wrexham MP Ian Lucas has called for fairer pay at the top of Nationwide Building Society.
Mr Lucas, a Nationwide customer, is calling for Nationwide to reform its pay structures after its Chief Executive was paid £2.3million last year. As a mutual organisation, Mr Lucas believes that the money paid in by customers such as himself should not be used by the Nationwide to provide multi-million pound salaries for its top staff.
In a blog for the Huffington Post, Mr Lucas explained: “I believe that a mutual organisation which claims to be “On Your Side” should stick to certain fundamental principles. It should reward its employees appropriately and proportionately. In a year, a minimum wage worker (assuming minimum wage worker earns £12,000 a year) makes .53% of what Mr. Beale made in total 2013 pay (£2,258,000).
“The Chief Executive earns 190 times what a minimum wage earner employed by the Nationwide earns.”
Mr Lucas has written to Nationwide’s Chief Executive, Graham Beale, to urge him to re-examine the level of pay he receives. He is also considering working with other Nationwide customers to present a motion to Nationwide’s annual meeting calling for pay reforms to be implemented.
He said today: “I believe mutual societies, such as Nationwide and the Co-op, should have greater regard to their members’ views than currently seems to be the case. I think most people would agree that reforming pay at the very top of these organisations would be fair – especially at is the customers’ money which pays these salaries.”
