Plan to hike WTO chief's pay rejected

Japan and other members of the World Trade Organisation have turned down a plan for a substantial pay hike for WTO chief Pascal Lamy, Japanese media reported on Tuesday.

The secretariat of the Geneva-based global trade body planned to increase Lamy's annual pay by 20 to 30 per cent from around 500,000 Swiss francs ($468,000) at present and proposed the raise at an informal committee meeting in early July to discuss budgetary and other issues, Kyodo news agency quoted trade sources as saying.

But more than 20 participating countries opposed the proposal on the grounds that large pay hikes for leaders of international organisations should be avoided in light of tough employment and wage conditions worldwide in the wake of the global financial crisis.

"The secretariat's proposal is understandable as the salary of the WTO director general has remained unchanged for a long time, but its timing is not right," the report quoted one of the sources as saying.

The head of the WTO is believed to receive less than the heads of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund but more than the chiefs of other international bodies.

Lamy, 62, a French national, was appointed as WTO chief on September 1, 2005 for a four-year term.