The high salaries of senior ICRC officials anger

Tongues are loosened internally at the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), hit by an unprecedented financial crisis and forced to lay off 1,800 people out of a total of 22,700 employees. In this very tense climate, criticism against the hierarchy is numerous. The RTS investigated the benefits offered to the highest executives of the organization.

This content was published on June 22, 2023

June 22, 2023

The figures circulating internally come from US tax data, which contains all salaries and other financial benefits dedicated to positions of responsibility. The ICRC must provide this information like any other charitable organization that wants to be tax-exempt in the United States.

The tax data made public for the moment stops at 2021. By converting dollars into Swiss francs, we see that records were reached during the 2010s, those of the reign of former President Peter Maurer. He received up to 437,000 francs per year. The former general manager Yves Daccord, he reached 330,000 francs.

Figures confirmed by the ICRC

The ICRC confirmed these figures to the RTS and agreed to specify their evolution: the former Secretary of State Peter Maurer was appointed in 2012 with an initial salary of 390,000 francs, which was therefore increased by more than 40,000 francs thereafter. Historically, the CEO role has paid slightly less. When he arrived in 2010, Yves Daccord received 300,000 francs. It was also increased later. This upward trend is currently coming to a halt. The new president of the ICRC Mirjana Spoljaric must be satisfied with 390,000 francs and the director general Robert Mardini receives 320,000 francs in base salary.

According to data from the American tax authorities, the highest executives are also entitled to an annual allowance ranging from 18,000 to 24,000 francs. In 2021, the six other members of the management received salaries of between 250,000 and 290,000 francs. Another salary at the top of the list is that of the vice-president of the ICRC, Gilles Carbonnier, who receives around 290,000 francs a year.

Major UN agencies as a point of comparison

These remunerations are governed by a salary grid for the members of the management, while the amounts for the presidency and the director general are fixed by the ICRC committee and its remuneration commission. The flagship organization of international Geneva defends the height of the remuneration offered to its highest executives, as explained to the RTS Director of Human Resources Claire Sperandio: “It’s an organization that has become enormously professional, with more than 20,000 employees and a budget of more than 2 billion francs. We therefore need the best possible talent in our leadership roles. To do this, we must be attractive and competitive, the salary is part of it”.

The HR director specifies that “the ICRC is on average 20% below the other players in the sector”, according to regular comparisons, particularly with the major UN agencies. This point of comparison is criticized by a former member of the ICRC, National Councilor (Greens/GE) Nicolas Walder: “The ICRC should be more modest on its salaries and would do better to align itself with NGOs than with the agencies of the ‘UN. The credibility of the organization is at stake, which also needs to be supported more than ever by Switzerland”.

Expensive severance packages

Another financial benefit is fueling criticism of the “Humanitarian Rolls”, as some call the ICRC in Geneva. This is a system of severance pay linked to seniority, which applies to members of the management when their mandate ends. The data from the American tax authorities show in 2021 a payment of more than 300,000 francs to Yves Daccord, when he left his post as general manager in June 2020.

The ICRC informs the RTS that it is a “completely normal and regulatory” payment, which corresponds to a severance indemnity of 12 months’ salary, the maximum provided for if one has been in the service of the ICRC for more than 16 years, which was the case of Yves Daccord. But he left of his own free will after the end of his career as general manager.

>>> The reaction of Yves Daccord, guest of the Morning RTSthis Thursday, June 22

How to justify the payment of a severance pay, when the system was originally designed to support retraining after long missions abroad, then extended to all staff whose contract is not renewed? where does it end? According to the ICRC, the case of the members of the management is different, because they have terms of four years, renewable or not. “They have to be able to devote themselves to their mandate until the last day and not think about what’s next, explains Claire Sperandio. Severance pay is part of an offer that we want to be attractive and competitive”.

This system has been costly for the ICRC, which has renewed its entire management over the past three years. Apart from the general manager, six other members of the management have left. The ICRC refused to tell the RTS the sum devoted to their severance pay: “We generally consider that the exact salaries of our staff members are private and confidential”.

We will therefore have to wait for the next publications of the American tax authorities to have the precise figures. According to our estimate, five of the six members of management met the seniority criteria to receive the maximum indemnity of 12 months’ salary. In total, this can represent more than one million francs in compensation.

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