Rich Pickings

Socialist Courier once more exposes the exhorbitant awards that members of the capitalist class award themselves .

Cable and Wireless announced a bonus scheme for its part-time chairman Richard Lapthorne that it is worth nearly £11 million . The telecoms company plans to offer Mr Lapthorne a three-year, performance-related incentive scheme that could result in him receiving 5.5 million C and W shares in 2010. At today's market price, the shares would be worth about £10.9 million to Mr Lapthorne, who typically puts in two to three days work a week at the company.

It comes just 12 months after the company launched a long-term incentive plan worth up to £220 million to 60 senior managers.Last year's plan is potentially worth about £18 million each to John Pluthero and Harris Jones, the group managing directors who respectively control C and W's UK and international businesses.

The Communication Workers Union stated:- "Is there no limit to Mr Lapthorne's cheek and to shareholders' gullibility ? Last year, they agreed to a huge reward system for top executives to deliver a programme they had failed to deliver the previous year. Now they've got to pay Mr Lapthorne an additional £10m to do his job enthusiastically."

Last week , Tesco , the supermarket group , said it would award Sir Terry Leahy, its chief executive, shares worth more than £11 million if his plans for expansion in the US proved successful.