You can't be giving directors very high increases when you're expecting everyone else to share the pain of being held back

George Cox, Institute of Directors

Both firms are shedding staff and selling off businesses to reshape themselves, and Corus has frozen the pay of frontline workers.

But the Pru's board awarded itself a 44% pay rise in 2001, while most staff got less than 4%, the firm's annual report revealed.

Meanwhile Corus' annual report revealed a 130% pay rise for chairman Sir Brian Moffat, giving him �558,846 before bonuses.

'Wages of sin'

The news emerged as steel workers at Corus' Llanwern plant in South Wales worked their final shift - " a bitter coincidence", said local Labour MP Paul Flynn.

Corus chairman Sir Brian Moffat

Mr Flynn condemned Sir Brian's pay award as "Judas gold" and "the wages of sin", earned for pushing through redundancies in the face of government and union opposition.

"How do Corus bosses explain their wage freeze for workers while gifting fortunes to themselves?" he asked.

Corus has defended the pay award, saying it covered a period when Sir Brian did two jobs, as chairman and chief executive. Since a separate chief executive was appointed last September, Sir Brian's salary has reverted to its December 2000 level, Corus said.

But more harsh words - for Prudential in particular - came from Institute of Directors chief George Cox.

"You can't be giving directors very high increases when you're expecting everyone else to share the pain of being held back," Mr Cox told Radio 4's Today programme.

Shoddy conduct?

While both firm's pay packages "take a lot of explaining" in current market conditions, Prudential has a particular responsibility to set an example because it is a big shareholder in other companies, Mr Cox added.

These are deliberately stretching targets. If we meet all these targets shareholders would be delighted

Prudential spokesman

Three Prudential board members earned more than �1m last year, the annual report showed.

One of them, chief executive Jonathan Bloomer, could pocket up to �18m over the next three years under a new pay scheme set out in document, the Guardian newspaper said.

Mr Bloomer and finance director Philip Broadley are among top executives covered by the cash and shares scheme.

Pay consultants reportedly described the scheme, which takes five pages to explain, as extremely complex.

For the executives to receive the maximum amount, the Prudential must be ranked the world's number one insurer in a list of 30 firms.

Tough targets

The insurer has defended the pay plan, saying it was a demanding incentive scheme.

"These are deliberately stretching targets. If we meet all these targets shareholders would be delighted," a Prudential spokesman told the Guardian newspaper.

Prudential chief executive Jonathan Bloomer

Pay specialist Peter Jauhal, of consultancy firm Inbucon-Meis, said the scheme would mean earnings of �18m over three years if Mr Bloomer met all his performance targets.

Mr Bloomer's pay last year rose to �1m from �848,000 in 2000, the annual report showed.

The Pru has announced plans to axe 2,100 jobs by the end of 2003 as part of a company-wide restructuring.

Financial services analysts are sceptical that the Prudential's board will reach the more ambitious targets.

The Institute of Director's survey of pay rises in UK board rooms last year found bosses got an average increase of 4%.