Executives of companies owned mainly by the Confederation should not receive a salary exceeding one million francs, estimates the Commission of political institutions of the National Council. She sent her project to the People’s Chamber on Thursday.
The National Commission believes that a cap of one million is reasonable. (Illustrative photo)
KEYSTONE
The salaries of executives of companies of which the Confederation is the main owner or the majority shareholder should not exceed one million francs. The National Council’s Political Institutions Commission sent its draft to the plenum on Thursday.
At the end of the consultation, the committee did not modify its text. By 19 votes to 5, it therefore submits it to the People’s Chamber.
A minority of the committee proposes not to enter into the matter. It is not for the legislator to set upper limits of remuneration. According to her, by including in the law an identical ceiling for all companies, we make the system too rigid and we do not take into account the specific needs of each company.
For the committee, the remuneration of executives and members of the boards of directors of CFF, Ruag, La Poste, Suva, Swisscom, Skyguide and SSR should not exceed that of a federal councilor. But the project includes in addition to the salary, the fees and all the cash benefits, such as those of the retirement provision.
A minister earns around 445,000 francs gross per year, plus an annual lump sum allowance of 30,000 francs. Adding the pension and the various benefits, the salary of a Federal Councilor amounts to approximately one million. In 2019, former CFF boss Andreas Meyer was the highest paid and the only one whose total compensation exceeded one million.
No increases
The commission considers the limit of one million to be reasonable. But in no case does she want to cause an increase in remuneration. Certain limits should not be exceeded.
The draft also includes a ban on the payment of severance pay to senior executives and members of boards of directors. The amount of these envelopes has sometimes caused misunderstanding among the population.
With regard to other Confederation companies, it is up to the Federal Council to set the maximum remuneration. This provision is contained in the Federal Personnel Act.
Actions Already Taken
The Federal Council has already taken the lead with regard to La Poste, CFF, Skyguide, RUAG Holding, SIFEM and Identitas. The general meetings of these public limited companies can set each year, in advance, an upper limit for the remuneration of the members of the board of directors and of the management.
The variable part of the salary of the members of the management must not exceed 50% of the fixed part. The amount of ancillary services may not exceed 10% of the fixed salary. This last rule applies to public limited companies as well as to Confederation establishments and foundations. The board of directors sets the maximum amount on a case-by-case basis, while respecting this limit.
The ancillary services include in particular lump sum allowances for expenses and representation, contributions to social insurance and pension funds, private use of the company vehicle, public transport subscriptions and other similar services.
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