Swiss vote on proposal to limit top managers' pay to 12 times that of lowest-paid workers

BERLIN – Voters in prosperous Switzerland are delivering their verdict on a proposal to limit the pay of companies' highest-paid managers to at most 12 times that of their lowest-paid workers.

Sunday's referendum comes after voters in March voiced anger at perceived corporate greed by voting to boost shareholders' say on executive pay and ban one-off bonuses known as "golden hellos" and "goodbyes."

The young socialist backers of the new "1:12 initiative" say that imposing a legal limit on salaries would ensure fairer pay.

But their proposal is opposed by Swiss business, which argues that it would weaken the nation's competitiveness. Opponents include Sepp Blatter, the Swiss president of world soccer's governing body FIFA, who argues that it would have the side-effect of seriously damaging Swiss soccer.