Woolworths CEO Roy Bagattini has come under renewed scrutiny after selling 700 000 shares in the company over three days, netting more than R38.4 million – an amount over 410 times more than what Woolworths’ lowest-paid employee earns in an entire year.
The lowest-paid full-time worker at Woolworths earns R93 600 per year, according to data from shareholder advocacy group Just Share.
In comparison, Bagattini earned R38 million in just three days.
Breakdown
- Bagattini’s share sale:
- 10 June: R23.17 million
- 11 June: R6.15 million
- 12 June: R9.12 million
- Total: R38 438 665
- Entry-level Woolworths employee annual wage:
- R93 600
That means Bagattini earned in one hour what the average entry-level employee would need almost two years to make – assuming a 40-hour workweek.
Executive pay and inequality
This is not the first time Bagattini’s earnings have drawn attention.
In the 2023 financial year, he received R122 million in total remuneration – 1 308 times more than the company’s lowest-paid staff.
Though that dropped to R65.3 million in 2024, criticism has remained strong, especially amid South Africa’s worsening cost-of-living crisis.
“It is crucial to recognise the contribution of the extreme vertical wage gaps which characterise these companies to the country’s overall high levels of inequality,” said Kwanele Ngogela, senior inequality analyst at Just Share.
At the company’s 2024 Annual General Meeting, more than a third of Woolworths shareholders voted against its remuneration policy – the second year in a row the retailer failed to achieve the 75% approval threshold needed to pass its pay structure unopposed.
Growing backlash
Bagattini’s R38 million cash-out has further amplified calls for executive pay reform, with critics arguing that the company’s pay structure is out of step with the economic reality of most South Africans.
Although Woolworths says the sale was part of a portfolio rebalancing strategy, the optics of a CEO pocketing millions while lower-level employees earn less than R8 000 a month have drawn ire from labour groups, civil society organisations, and shareholders alike.
At the time of publication, Woolworths had not issued a public response to the backlash over Bagattini’s share sale or the widening income gap it represents.
Are you ok with the yawning pay gap between senior management and their staff?
Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1
Subscribe to The South African website’s newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
