Shareholder activist group Just Share analyzed the ‘vertical pay gap’ at 8 JSE-listed companies by comparing the pay of CEOs to lowest paid workers.
- Shoprite had the greatest vertical pay gap, with its CEO earning 1,081 times more than its disclosed minimum wage of R58,700 per year.
- Woolworths’ CEO earned 423 times the company’s disclosed minimum pay of R85,500 per year, followed by Standard Bank (258 times), Absa (230 times) and Nedbank (176 times).
- The JSE Ltd had the lowest vertical pay gap, with its CEO earning 49 times more than the disclosed minimum guaranteed pay of R419,585.
- None of the companies disclosed what the lowest grade job is that earns the minimum salary, or mentioned contract workers to whom minimum wage does not apply.
- Just Share says pay gap disclosure is important to shed light on labour market inequality and provide data for informed conversations around reducing inequality.