Travail.Suisse demands salary increases of 3-5% in 2023
The Swiss economy is in full swing and employees are not benefiting from the situation, denounces the union federation, which spoke to the press in Bern on Monday.
This wage increase will guarantee workers’ purchasing power in the face of an estimated 2.8% increase in consumer prices for the entire year.
KEYSTONE
Travail.Suisse demands general wage increases of between 3 and 5% for all workers next year. This demand should make it possible to compensate for the current strong rise in the cost of living and the productivity gains of companies.
The current economic situation is very good for the economy, stressed Thomas Bauer, head of economic policy at Travail.Suisse on Monday to the press in Bern. Despite the difficult global political situation, the Swiss economy is running at full speed. Employees themselves benefit little at the moment.
They see the cost of living rise and experience increasing stress. “This must urgently change,” insisted Thomas Bauer, calling for “substantial” wage increases to allow workers too to benefit from this positive development.
3% raise, a minimum
The trade union central demands a wage increase of at least 3%. This will ensure workers’ purchasing power in the face of an estimated 2.8% increase in consumer prices for the full year. Added to this is the expected increase in health insurance premiums.
For Thomas Bauer, “compensation for inflation is non-negotiable”. This is just “the lower limit of wage claims”. Travail.Suisse requires increases of between 3% and 5% depending on the branch, in order to allow employees to benefit from the companies’ productivity gains.
“All workers should get their fair share of the fruits of growth” as they work “to the best of their abilities,” adds Syna board member Johann Tscherrig.
In addition to compensation for rising prices, the union thus demands an increase in real wages of 200 francs in the construction sector, 2.5% in chemical and pharmaceutical products or 2% in retail trade, where a “clear wage problem” it is necessary according to it.
A push for health
Salary recovery is also necessary in public administration, which has provided “extraordinary services” in two years of the pandemic, estimates, in turn, Transfair. The union opposes SBB and SBB Cargo’s demands for a reduction in employees’ net salary to compensate for the damage caused by the coronavirus and the savings commitments assumed in this regard before the Confederation.
Travail.Suisse also believes that structural improvements are needed in some branches, such as health, with salary increases of more than 5%. Lack of qualified personnel, overwork, difficult working hours and wages that are “structurally too low”, health remains under great pressure, recalls Syna.
For this sector, the union demands, in addition to compensation for the price increase, a general wage increase of 5%. At the same time, the political world is called upon to implement the nursing care initiative adopted last November, with a “sustainable” improvement in continuing education and working conditions.
Measures for low wages
In addition, Travail.Suisse has drawn up an 18-point plan of measures in favor of low wages and small pensions. In particular, he calls for structural wage increases to benefit low wages.
He also wants to do away with the notion of “female pay” in “female branches”. The same goes for the “Ticino exception”, which means that the canton is often considered a low-wage area. This plan also includes measures to stabilize incomes, reduce costs and facilitate the replacement of fossil fuels.
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