A report in The Herald Sun says that the son of working-class folk, Jetstar CEO Alan Joyce knows the value of money and putting in the hard yards.
“My mother was a cleaner and my father was a postman at one stage,” he said.
“They put all their kids through school and university by keeping a number of jobs, at one stage my father had three jobs.”
As the head of Qantas’s budget subsidiary, Irish-born Mr Joyce works up to 70 hours a week and for that he gets a base salary of more than $700,000, plus performance bonuses.
Mr Joyce said aviation was a tough global business and all managers had to deal with demands 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
“You could get a call at 3am on a Sunday and you just have to be available continuously,” he said.
Mr Joyce, who doesn’t have extravagant hobbies, said his modest background made him feel privileged about his job and income.
“That’s probably why I have the commitment and the drive to put the hours in, just like my parents did before,” he said.
As for the occasional public outcry over high CEO salaries, Mr Joyce said: “I can see both sides of the argument.
“We live in a market society and the market usually dictates what various roles pay at different levels.”
“At the same time, coming from a working-class background, I’m very conscious that this is a hell of a lot of money.”
“People should feel privileged.”
Report by The Mole
