Swiss left-wing parties and the Swiss Federation of Trade Unions launched, in April, the 1:12 initiative, which will give rise to a national referendum (“votation populaire”) in November 2013 – the outcome is binding. The goal is to add to the Swiss Constitution an article providing for strict control over the remuneration of managers, limiting the highest salary in the company to up to 12 times the lowest salary in the same company. More and more Swiss employers are expressing anger and concern. But the initiative’s followers are determined to build on the success of the “Minder initiative” against excessive pay, approved on March 3 by 67.9% of citizens. It removes CEOs’ golden parachutes and lets shareholders determine the directors’ remuneration. (Ref. 130342)
Swiss employers and businesses aren’t in a partying mood right now. Indeed, on top of the EU criticizing the Swiss banking system, two national initiatives are now questioning Swiss employers’ remuneration levels. The first, the Minder initiative, is not very restrictive in the end. It was already adopted by a large majority after a referendum on March 3. The second however, initiative 1:12, could be extremely binding. It should be subject to another referendum in November 2013, since it has already received the required 100,000 signatures.
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