Fonterra's chairman in line for tidy fee rise

A 9.75 per cent fee rise for Fonterra's chairman and eight per cent for directors was being considered at the dairy co-op's annual meeting in Whangarei today.

If approved, chairman Henry van der Heyden's pay would leap $20,000 a year to $225,000. Directors would get an $8000 pay rise to $108,000.

The proposed increases come as unions have been pushing for five per cent increases, and as dairy farmers face a reduced payout of $4/kg of milksolids this season.

Fonterra's notice of meeting said the proposed increases took into account factors such as market conditions, directors' workload expectations and international trends for directors' fees.

The remuneration committee's view was that the level of fees was "generally correct" but it was prudent to adjust them to reflect market conditions to avoid "significant" future adjustments.

Waikato Federated Farmers president Peter Buckley, a Waerenga dairy farmer, said farmers felt Fonterra's chairman and directors did a good job.

But the rises were at the outer limit of what farmers would want to see and some could be irritated by them.

- nzpa