Postman’s £6m pat on the back

Firm hit by rebellion over new boss’s pay

ROYAL Mail was rocked yesterday by a revolt over a bumper pay deal for its Zurich-based boss.

A huge 70% of shareholders voted against the postal giant’s boardroom pay plans at its AGM.

The rebellion came amid controversy over the deal handed to new German chief executive Rico Back.

Not only will he get a £640,000-a-year salary – £100,000 more than predecessor Moya Greene – he also netted a near£6million “golden hello” when he joined from another part of Royal Mail, General Logistics Systems.

To add to that, Back has been allowed to stay living in Switzerland and commute to work at Royal Mail’s London HQ.

Royal Mail said Back had been living in Zurich for more than 10 years and would pay full UK tax on all of his earnings, including bonuses.

But despite the result, the vote was not binding.

Chairman Peter Long insisted Back’s “fixed pay” would be “exactly the same” as Greene’s after a difference in pension payments.

Orna Ni-Chionna, chair of Royal Mail’s boardroom pay-setting committee, said: “We’ve worked hard to take a responsible approach to executive pay and have strong support from shareholders.”

This comes as the privatisation backlash continues. Payouts to shareholders have hit £1billion since it was sold off, despite profits slumping by more than a third.

The firm dished out a record £231m in dividends last year. The bulk of that went to hedge funds and City investors.