Retaliatory prosecution, loyalty oaths and an “intelligence system” comprised of business and political elites continue to severely limit the freedom of people in Switzerland to safely report corruption, a new report finds.
“Secrecy laws, the lack of transparency, and the failure to protect whistleblowers are viewed as significant problems both inside and outside the country,” concludes “Stalemate: Whistleblower Protection in Switzerland” by the Charles Léopold Mayer Foundation and Whistleblowing International Network.
“In Switzerland, dismissals, criminal and civil sanctions for breaching confidentiality, moral harassment, mobbing, discrimination and pressure are only some of the actions taken against whistleblowers,” the report says.
Even as EU countries are in the midst of passing new whistleblower laws, Switzerland remains in the minority of European countries with no legal protections whatsoever at the national level. The OECD said in July it is “highly concerned” about Switzerland’s lack of a whistleblower law and other anti-corruption reforms.
“There are strong obligations on Swiss workers to uphold their duties of confidentiality and loyalty to their employers,” the groups’ report says, “and few, if any, protections for blowing the whistle on wrongdoing.”
“In some sectors, such as banking,” it continues, “secrecy laws mean whistleblowers can and are held criminally liable for making disclosures.” Among those who have been prosecuted in Switzerland are tax evasion...
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