Fortescue’s shareholders should vote against the company’s remuneration arrangements because millions of dollars of bonuses have been paid to retiring executives with little benefit to the mining and energy giant’s investors, two influential proxy advisory firms have told their clients.

CGI Glass Lewis, in its report ahead of Fortescue’s annual meeting, said the company’s long-serving director Mark Barnaba was no longer independent after 12 years on the board, adding that his “remuneration quantum [was] questionable for an independent non-executive role”.