Frustration among employees Aid organization raises executive salaries - normal employees have to make savings
Wages are rising at the Swiss aid organization Helvetas - but only for the bosses. However, normal employees will have to prepare for cuts.
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- At the Swiss aid organization Helvetas, salaries are rising for the bosses.
- Ordinary employees, however, have to adjust to cuts.
- This has caused frustration among the 180 or so employees
New salary regulations at the Swiss aid organization Helvetas are causing tensions from 2025. While the salaries of members of the Executive Board, team leaders and other senior employees will be increased, employees in the lower salary groups will have to prepare for cuts, as reported byBlick.
This frustrates many of the 180 or so employees - including the higher earners. "My salary is being adjusted upwards, but I don't think it's right that colleagues who already earn less will get even less in future," said one employee.
The reason for the changes is an internal salary comparison, which showed that Helvetas paid higher salaries for simpler tasks and lower salaries for more demanding positions compared to other employers. As a result, the HR department adjusted the so-called "functional wage system", which evaluates 95 different functions. These adjustments resulted in 16 functions being devalued and 14 being upgraded, which had a direct impact on wages.
Management benefits
Following negotiations with the staff committee, it was agreed that there would be no direct pay cuts over the next three years. However, affected employees will not receive a cost-of-living adjustment, unlike in previous years, when Helvetas granted all employees the full cost-of-living adjustment. In 2023, this amounted to a flat rate of four percent.
Meanwhile, the Executive Board and the Managing Director of Helvetas, Melchior Lengsfeld, will benefit from a salary increase. His salary will rise by 1.9 percent to CHF 197,000. In 2021, his salary was still CHF 179,000 - since then, his salary has risen by 10 percent.
The salary revision was approved by 91.4 percent of employees and the Board of Directors, including President Regula Rytz. Despite the goal of not increasing overall salaries, the wage bill rose by 1.2 percent.