ZURICH (Reuters) – The Swiss competition commission has opened a preliminary investigation into whether dozens of banks were improperly sharing information about what they pay some staff, it said on Monday.
“A large number of banks in the German-speaking part of Switzerland regularly exchange information about the salaries of certain categories of employees. As this behaviour could be problematic under the Cartel Act, a preliminary investigation has been initiated,” it said in a statement.
The probe centres on 34 banks in six regions of German-speaking Switzerland and can be extended to other geographical regions and companies, it added.
The labour market is becoming increasingly important for competition authorities worldwide.
In Switzerland, the COMCO Secretariat is for the first time analysing possible labour market agreements that may fall within the scope of the Cartel Act as they are not the result of negotiations between social partners.
(Reporting by Michael Shields; Editing by Paul Carrel)
