Well done. It's unthinkable to imagine so little action has been taken against the pay committees or executives after such poor showings.
Shell was engulfed in controversy at its annual meeting in the Netherlands on Tuesday when 59% of shareholders opposed its remuneration report. Bonuses were paid to directors despite performance targets being missed.Too many such examples yet too little action.
Last night, Abigail Herron of Co-operative Asset Management, which controls investments worth £18bn, said: "Legally, Shell can do what it wants on this one, but on moral grounds, the bonuses should be paid back to shareholders."
Alan MacDougall, managing director of the investor activist group Pirc, was equally forthright, saying the bonuses should be "returned forthwith". He also believed Job should step down. He said: "Job was chairman of the committee that decided to use its discretion to award these bonuses, so he must carry the can.
"Shell is another example of how executive pay and performance are so often misaligned."
