Qantas boss Alan Joyce wins 71 per cent, $2m pay hike

[Greg McDonald]

I think this is an absolute bl00dy joke and if he had any kind of conscience he should give the entire rise to charity....Try to destroy an iconic airline and get a huge payrise for it!!! All I can hope is that this hastens his demise.

From news.com.au:

QANTAS chief Alan Joyce has been rewarded with a $5 million salary package for his work this year in restructuring the airline, despite giving 1000 workers their marching orders.

The massive 71 per cent increase comes on the back of the $552 million profit announced by Qantas and the airline's strategy to set up an Asian offshoot to help stem losses from its international business.

The rise earned the immediate wrath of Qantas unions, which have been fighting the airline over wages and condition claims for months.

Mr Joyce's package rose from $2.94 million in 2010 to $5 million this financial year.

It also comes as Qantas shares have dived in value this year and the airline's international division lose more than $200 million.

Mr Joyce was among the top echelon of Qantas executives whose total salary packages rose from $8.9 million in 2010 to a total of $14.436 in 2011.

But the airline pointed out that Mr Joyce's final salary package included share-based bonuses - that hinge on meeting performance targets - that he may never received.

A spokesman said that the airline considered his final vested salary as more realistic and this had declined from $3352 million in 2010 to $3.043 million this year.

This meant the salary had to be read not as a rise, but the amount he actually received was nine per cent down on last year.

"Mr Joyce's salary is not excessive compared with other large Australian companies,'' a Qantas spokesman said.

He said Qantas executives have not been awarded a cash bonus for the past two years and Mr Joyce's pay in his last year as CEO of Jetstar in 2007-08 was higher than his pay as Qantas CEO in 2010-11.

Jetstar chief Bruce Buchanan also saw his salary rise from $1.26 to $1.4 million this year, before share payments are accounted for which took the figure back to $905,000.

Pilots union president Captain Barry Jackson slammed Mr Joyce's rise as "abhorrent".

He said it was "a bad look'' when about 200 pilots faced either losing their jobs through redundancy or re-deployment to Jetstar on a lower wage.

"Pilots dedicate a good part of their lives to getting up to the required standard for Qantas and that costs them a lot,'' Captain Jackson said.

"To see Mr Joyce take this kind of money when jobs are being lost is abhorrent and I think Australians will feel that.''

A spokesman for the Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers Association, also in dispute with Qantas over wages and job security, said the executive rise would only harden the attitude of members.

"It really sends a message about commitment to those workers who really love the company and the Qantas brand,'' he said.

"It is a slap in the face.''