By Luigi Serenelli2021-01-15T15:06:00+00:00
The Swiss Federation of Trade Unions, SGB USS, is recommending the country’s government reinforce its first pillar pension system (AHV) to reduce the gender gap in pension payments harming mainly women.
“If we want to support women in pensions, we need to focus on the AHV because there are mechanisms that work,” Gabriela Medici, deputy head of secretariat for SGB USS, told IPE, explaining that all women with an AHV pension could be reached.
The median monthly pension in the AHV for men is CHF1,936, while for women is CHF1,754, according to the Federal Statistical Office (FSO).
Switzerland: The Ultimate Democracy?
The Swiss system of direct democracy is one of the purest means through which an engaged and interested citizenry can make its voice heard but it does have its share of problems.
The twenty-six cantons that make up the Swiss Confederation represent a unique anomaly for a number of reasons. First, Switzerland has not been in any state of declared warfare since the Napoleonic Era, a feat certainly not matched by its Italian, French or German neighbors. In addition, the state has managed to successfully balance the linguistic differences of its population, ensuring that German, French, Italian and Romansh speakers are treated equally and fairly under the law (just a few countries away, places like Belgium, Latvia, Ukraine and Spain are fiercely divided on issues related in part to linguistic differences). Its pacifist nature and nonalignment with other nations also stand out as fascinating characteristics of the Swiss State.