Pay gap between bosses and ordinary workers widens in Switzerland

ZURICH (Reuters) -The gap between the highest- and lowest-paid workers in Switzerland widened in 2023, with top managers earning on average 143 times more than their lowest-paid employees, according to a study published by trade union Unia on Monday.

The pay gap was up from 139 times in 2022, the study said, with the country's biggest bank UBS having the largest differential.

Pay at the bank has become a political talking point, with Swiss Finance Minister Karin Keller-Sutter earlier this year criticising UBS Chief Executive Sergio Ermotti's 14.4 million Swiss franc ($16.99 million) 2023 compensation.

UBS said it offered its employees salaries in line with the market, according to their role, experience and location.

The bank has increased the total salaries for employees working in Switzerland up to and including middle management by 2.25%, slightly higher than the increases in the rest of the financial sector, it said.

Drug maker Novartis had the second highest salary gap, with foodmaker Nestle third, the report said.

Neither Novartis nor Nestle immediately replied to requests for comment.

By way of comparison, last year in Britain, the median FTSE 100 CEO earned 120 times more than the national median salary, according to the High Pay Centre, a think tank.

The Swiss pay gap is at its highest level since 2019, when CEO salaries were 148 times higher than the lowest, Unia said.

"The gaps between the highest and lowest paid workers are huge and getting bigger," said Unia economist Noemie Zurlinden.

The report's authors said inequality in Switzerland had continued to rise even though companies could afford to pay more as they made big dividend payouts and did share buybacks.

While top earners are getting more money, those on low and middle incomes are seeing their spending power reduced as real wages have stagnated due to inflation, Zurlinden said.

"It cannot be justified that the CEOs earn so much more than ordinary workers. A better redistribution of the economic gains is especially important in times of rising costs of living."

($1 = 0.8475 Swiss francs)

(Reporting by John RevillAdditional reporting by Paul Arnold; Editing by Sharon Singleton)