Paul Rechsteiner
The decision of the Swiss government on May 26th to end the seven-year negotiations on an institutional framework agreement with the European Union came as a surprise to many if moreso in Brussels than in Berne.
At the heart of it was Switzerland’s wage-protection policy. For their consistent resistance to wage dumping, the Swiss trade unions have been sharply attacked as ‘left-wing nationalists’, despite their manifestly pro-European stance. For the unions the rejection of the draft framework agreement was not however about any ‘Swissexit’ but about advancing social Europe.
In the aftermath of the announcement, a series of text messages were published in
Switzerland’s labor laws
If you’re looking for a job in Switzerland, you should know that the country’s protections for workers are fairly straightforward and explicit. These include caps on hourly work weeks, requirements for overtime pay, and mandatory yearly paid holiday time.
In fact, the average full-time employee in Switzerland works 41 hours per week. The relevant laws impacting labor law in Switzerland include the recently updated Gender Equality Act and the Code of Obligations, which date back to 1911.
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Foreign workers – your right to work in Switzerland
As in many European countries, your right to work or seek work in Switzerland depends on your nationality. In recent years, the government has reduced the number of Switzerland work visas issued to those from outside the European Union (EU) and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA, which consists of Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland).
The next global pandemic: long-term unemployment Published on Share
With Covid-19 hitting the job market hard, long-term unemployment figures are rising globally. Experts warn that the situation could be a ticking time-bomb.
Oliver Schopfer, an accountant in his 50s from canton Vaud (southwestern Switzerland), had been out of a job for almost a year before he finally found a position at the end of 2019. Just a month after beginning his new job, Schopfer – who has over 30 years of experience in his field – found himself out of work again.
“The company worked a lot with restaurant owners,” Schopfer recalled. “When the [Covid-19] crisis hit, they told me they couldn’t afford to pay my salary anymore.”