Trade unions have criticised government plans to end the cap on bankers’ bonuses.
Kwasi Kwarteng, the new chancellor, is considering the controversial move to make the City of London more globally competitive.
The cap limits the amount bankers can receive in bonuses to twice their annual salary.
It is designed to prevent bankers taking unnecessary risks like those which led to the 2008 financial crash in order to pocket huge bonuses.
But the Conservatives have long argued that the cap hampers the UK’s attempts to attract the best global banking talent.
Former prime minister Boris Johnson was in favour of ending the cap, but feared a huge political backlash if his government went ahead with it.
Responding to the news that Liz Truss could go where her predecessor feared to tread, Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Workers will be appalled and angry at these plans.
“When millions are struggling to feed their families and keep the lights on, the government’s priority appears to be boosting the telephone number salaries of their friends in the city.
“Britain’s economy is now dominated by rampant profiteering. Removing the cap on banker’s bonuses will make that worse.
“Last year Britain’s banks made £45.6 billion of profits. So the chancellor’s signal to the city is ‘let it rip’ further and further, while the Bank of England lectures workers about pay restraint. You could not make it up.”
TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady said: “Bonuses in the City are already at a record high.
“While City executives rake it in, millions are struggling to keep their heads above water.
“Working people are being walloped by soaring prices after the longest and harshest wage squeeze in modern history.
“The chancellor’s number one priority should be getting wages rising for everyone – not boosting bumper bonuses for those at the top.”
The period of national mourning following the Queen’s death means that Labour has not responded to the government’s plans.
But when the idea was first proposed in June, Keir Starmer described it as “pay rises for bankers, pay cuts for district nurses”.