Gill Marcus forgoes a salary hike

Johannesburg - South African Reserve Bank (Sarb) governor Gill Marcus received a 0.4% pay rise this year, indicating that one of the most prominent opponents of excessive executive pay practises what she preaches.

With inflation at 6.6% in May, Marcus' tiny increase, bringing her annual salary to R5.007m, amounts to a pay cut in real terms.

Marcus' deputy, Daniel Mminele, went one step further by receiving an actual reduction in salary to R3.8m a year


The pay levels were given in the Sarb's annual report.

Marcus has frequently castigated the pay hikes granted to senior executives in the last few years.

She has said hefty increases fuel labour unrest in what remains one of the world's most unequal societies by pushing unions to demand wage rises way above inflation.

"How sustainable are you if you're not going to be able to keep your workforce because you earn so much? Nobody is saying you're going to be poor," she told financial professionals this month.

Marcus and Sarb board members also passed up salary increases last year in answer to a pay freeze challenge from President Jacob Zuma.