Novartis CEO pay cited as Swiss weigh limits to exec compensation

The Swiss are up in arms over executive pay again and, once again, Novartis ($NVS) executives are key exhibits in their case. This time, a fair-pay initiative will go up for nationwide vote, giving citizens the chance to weigh in on executive compensation. As Swiss Info reports, Novartis' lowest-paid employee would have to work 266 years to earn the $17.1 million (15.7 million Swiss francs) that CEO Joe Jimenez earned in 2011. That's the largest wage gap reported by the trade union Travail Suisse in an annual survey. In third place was Novartis Chairman Daniel Vasella, whose 2011 compensation was 229 times the lowest-paid employee's salary, the union says. Report