Kerre Woodham: It's tough work if you can get it, so lay off

News of the Telecom's CEO's $5 million pay package has been met with howls of outrage from the company's striking lines engineers.

Shameless greed, their union rep called it, and there are probably a few Telecom shareholders who would agree.

But, really, is it any of our business what Dr Paul Reynolds is paid - unless you're a Telecom shareholder?

Taxpayers aren't funding his salary or his perks. Shareholders and customers are. And if they're appalled at the size of his package, they should sell the shares and/or take their business elsewhere.

Although from what I've seen, Dr Reynolds' package is entirely in proportion. He may be the highest-priced CEO of a publicly listed company in New Zealand but according to the Telecom board his conditions of employment are on a par with other telco CEOs around the world.

I know it's a phenomenal amount of money but spleens should be vented in the board's direction, not Dr Reynolds'. They set the terms of his employment.

I'm not even sure it's nice work if you can get it. I don't have the ability or the desire to do a job like that, with the long hours, the international travel and the responsibility.

It would be nice if big companies delivered superior products and great service to their customers while paying their employees exactly the same salary no matter what their job. But that experiment failed in the Soviet Union and until such time as I see an equal-share theory working, I'll suspend my belief in that business model.

And as long as my internet connection keeps working, I won't be griping at Dr Reynolds.

* www.kerrewoodham.com