Top executive pay for 2023 will surpass minimum annual wage on Friday

Although the minimum wage in the Netherlands has increased by more than 10 percent this year, the fourteen most influential top executives in the Netherlands will have already earned that amount by Friday on average. That is just as quick as in 2022, said labor union FNV.

Shell CEO Wael Sawan's earnings already matched the minimum annual wage just 28 hours into the new year, FNV said.

The union has dubbed Friday as "Fat Cat Day." The union was inspired by activists in the United Kingdom who track the day in which the top paid men and women there exceed the average annual salary of British people.

Top executives have also started to earn more, even though Fat Cat Day remained on the same date in 2023 as a year earlier. FNV believes that the gap between the lowest and highest earners in a company should be narrowed.

The union has been calling for a minimum 14 euro hourly wage for quite some time. The increase on January 1 put the minimum wage at 11 euros per hour based on a 38-hour work week.

FNV ranked the Shell CEO among its most influential executives. The top executives of companies such as Ahold Delhaize, Philips, Randstad, Aegon, KPN and PostNL were also included in the list.