This was revealed in a report on sustainability reporting by the Integrated Reporting and Assurance Services (IRAS).
These details of the mining companies' income disparity ratio emerged while the gold mining sector is currently embroiled in a wage dispute with unions.
The gold mining sector is offering labourers a pay hike of 5%, while unions have demanded between 10% and 100%.
The report showed that AngloGold Ashanti's executive director on average earned R26m a year, which is 148 times more than their average employee.
An executive director of Gold Fields pockets R32m a year, which translates into 128 times more than the average worker.
The gold mining companies formed part of the top 20 JSE-listed companies that were least equitable. The income disparities between executive directors and their average employees ranged between 81 and 159.
At the very top of the Top 20 list was AVI, followed by AngloGold Ashanti, Truworths with 129, Gold Fields, Metair 121, Tongaat Hulett 119 and Massmart 118.
The income disparities between executive directors and average workers at paper producer Mondi stands at 116, Shoprite 112, Aquarius Platinum 106, Mr Price 106 and Adcorp 98.
Media24, which owns City Press and the Daily Sun, also made it on the list as the company's executive director on average earns R25m, which is 89 times more than its average employee.
IRAS partner Michael Rea wrote in the report that the numbers were shocking.
"Based on the numbers, one might argue that there is a collective willingness to over-abuse the under-skilled masses for the personal gain of a few.
"While we haven't run the numbers in their entirety, there appears to be a strong correlation between income and pay - which would make sense - but also an inverse correlation between the under-education of employees and the ability of highly skilled executives to earn a disproportionate amount of money off the sweat-equity of workers.
"Perhaps it's no wonder South Africa still entertains the concept of communism within our political arena," Rea wrote.
"Despite the legislated push towards black economic empowerment, including the Department of Trade and Industry codes of good practice and various industry sector charters, it appears as if companies are ill-prepared to either improve their procurement policies and procedures to encourage historically disadvantaged South African procurement," Rea added.
Source: Sowetan via I-Net Bridge
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