Projected salary increases for telecom employees down as Canadian companies cautious on pay raises

A survey by consulting firm Normandin Beaudry has found that Canadian companies in general are exercising caution when it comes to increasing compensation to their employees. Telecom firms surveyed are posting the most substantial reductions in increase budgets, the report states. After surveying 400 companies across the nation, Normandin Beaudry discovered that the average budget for increasing workers’ salaries in 2025 was predicted to be up by 3.3 per cent, a smaller change from the 3.6 per cent increase a year earlier. The data reflects all employee groups (non-union) from top to bottom. The firm does summer and winter surveys; the decline from last summer to this winter’s projections was 0.1 per cent. Telecommunications companies, meanwhile, showed a decrease of three percentage points in their yearly totals, according to Darcy Clark, senior principal of compensation for Normandin Beaudry. Clark does not single out any one player for the drop in salary increase budgets. In 2024, the actual increase in such telecom budgets was 4.2 per cent; for 2025 the forecast is 3.1 per cent. “It’s an industry cut, so we couldn’t say who the companies were but I would also say it’s not a huge sample,” he remarked in an interview with The Wire Report. “There’s five companies in the sample.” Clark is not surprised by the small number of companies taking part in the study. “But I also think it reflects the size and the structure of the industry in Canada,” he added. “It’s an oligopoly. There’s not a lot of players in the space in the first place.” There is not a similar breakdown of figures for the broadcasting sector, as most telecoms surveyed also feature a broadcast component. This is the 15th year that Normandin Beaudry has conducted its compensation study. Data for the next report will begin being collected in June and July. While the rank-and-file may have to tighten their belts, the folks at the top are doing well, another survey discovered. The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) issued its annual study of CEO pay in January. Three telecom CEOs are on the list of highly paid men–and it is mostly men. Only three women appeared on the top 100 roster. “Remarkably, there are more CEOs named Scott or Michael than women on this list,” the CCPA noted. Looking at the 100 highest-paid leaders in the private sector in Canada, the CCPA found that the average yearly compensation was $13.2 million in 2023. By 10:54 a.m. on the first working day of the year, these CEOs earned $62,661, the study says. It could take a regular employee all year to earn that sum, the report notes. “CEOs have always made more than the average worker, but the gap is growing,” the CCPA stated. “In 1998, the ratio was 108 times. It was closer to 150 times in 2009 and now is comfortably over 210 times, even though it was down in 2023.” Telus Corp. CEO Darren Entwistle placed ninth on the list, earning a grand total of $21 million. He drew $1.6 million in base salary, $16.1 million in share-based awards, $1.32 million in non-equity incentive plan compensation, $1.8 million in pension and $152,623 in other compensation. Entwistle, who was hired from outside Telus, has been at the helm of the telecom since 2000. CEO Mirko Bibic of BCE Inc. was paid $1.4 million in salary, $8 million in share-based awards, $2.95 million in non-equity incentive plan compensation, $874,880 in pension and $202,086 in other compensation. All told, he received $13.4 million in compensation, landing at number 34 on the CCPA’s list. Bibic worked his way up the ladder at Bell since joining the firm in 2004, a common occurrence in the CCPA survey. Seventy-six per cent of CEOs were promoted within their organization and worked for the company for an average of 21 years. “Their value is in having spent their career in that company, knowing it, its businesses and its industry, inside and out,” report author David Macdonald wrote. “As a result, they aren’t interchangeable with other CEOs. Therefore, the competition between companies to hire CEOs is itself a myth.” Rogers Communications Inc. CEO Tony Staffieri was number 38 on the list, at $12.9 million. His compensation was made up of $1.4 million in salary, $9 million in options, $1.4 million in non-equity incentives, $708,300 in pension and $467,168 in other compensation. The CCPA, which has tracked executive pay for 18 years, recommends a wealth tax on those earning more than $10 million a year and the imposition of higher top marginal brackets. ppark@thewirereport.ca

Projected salary increases for telecom employees down as Canadian companies cautious on pay raises

Telecom |
By Paul Park
| February 27, 2025

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Projected salary increases for telecom employees down as Canadian companies cautious on pay raises

Telecom | By Paul Park | February 27, 2025

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Telecom |
By Paul Park
| February 27, 2025