Swiss lead European move to restrict executive pay

It seems the ordinary people of Europe got fed up of waiting for the corporate sector to deal effectively with charges of greed and undeserved enrichment.

Just days after the EU secured an agreement on a radical proposal to cap bankers' bonuses, the people of Switzerland voted to introduce draconian restrictions on the remuneration of executives of all listed companies in that country.

These latest developments mean that South Africa, which has no recommendations let alone any proposed legislation relating to executive pay, significantly lags international developments. The failure to follow international trends when it comes to restricting executive pay contrasts with corporate South Africa's speedy adoption in previous years of international trends that led to substantial hikes in executive remuneration.