Swiss voters approve measure to curb excessive CEO compensations

[Tender Branson]

Swiss Voters Approve a Plan to Severely Limit Executive Compensation

GENEVA — Swiss citizens voted Sunday to impose some of the world’s most severe restrictions on executive compensation, ignoring a warning from the business lobby that such curbs would undermine the country’s investor-friendly image.

The vote gives shareholders of companies listed in Switzerland a binding say on the overall pay packages for executives and directors. Pension funds holding shares in a company would be obligated to take part in votes on compensation packages.

In addition, companies would no longer be allowed to give bonuses to executives joining or leaving the business, or to executives when their company was taken over. Violations could result in fines equal to up to six years of salary and a prison sentence of up to three years.

The outcome of the referendum was a triumph for Thomas Minder, an entrepreneur and member of the Swiss Parliament (no relation to the reporter), who turned a personal fight against the management of Swissair, the flagship airline that collapsed in 2001, into a nationwide referendum against “rip-off merchants.”

Almost 68 percent of Swiss voters backed Mr. Minder’s proposals, according to results announced late Sunday.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/04/business/global/swiss-voters-tighten-countrys-limits-on-executive-pay.html

[Antonio the Sixth]

Freedom initiative. Hopefully this will spur other countries to follow suit. Probably the first time in a while that something good comes out of Switzerland.

[ZuWo]

It's important to keep in mind that this initiative doesn't prevent CEOs from receiving extremely high salaries so it's probably not as revolutionary or dramatic as many might be tempted to believe.
An interesting footnote: Thomas Minder, who launched the initiative and is an entrepreneur himself, caucuses with the Swiss People's Party in the upper chamber. The fact that Minder is a conservative with vast experience in business has made the initiative attractive for large segments of the electorate.