BT CEO gets 80% pay boost, offers staff 2%

BT CEO Ian Livingston received £2.105m in salary and bonuses - an almost 80% increase on pay and perks - for 2009.

The news, revealed in BT's annual report published today, showed Livingston's base salary was unchanged at £850,000, but his bonus was £1,206,000.

This was recognition of turning around BT's fortunes from a reported loss in 2009 to a reported profit of £1.007bn in 2010.

The news was not well received by Communications Workers Union members, who are voting on whether to ballot BT workers on a strike in support of a 5% pay claim. BT has offered 2% plus guaranteed bonuses of between £250 and £500.

A CWU spokesman said some BT call centre workers earned around £15,000 a year. That would mean the highest-paid BT employee is paid 140 times more than the lowest-paid staff.