In brief...: Wages gap sparks row

Dec 7 2007

Afresh row over the earnings of company executives flared after a study revealed the gap between the average wages of directors compared with the lowest-paid workers in the UK is widening.

Research by the GMB union showed that directors and chief executives earned an average of £214,000, almost 20 times as much as waiters, who were on just over £11,000.

The gap between the top and bottom earning professions widened from 19 times to almost 20 times over the past year, the study revealed.

Paul Kenny, general secretary of the GMB, said some executives were earning up to 50 times the average wage of the lowest-paid workers.