Pensions vote: ‘the reform comes at the expense of women’
 

Vania Alleva, president of the Unia trade union.

 Anthony Anex

Vania Alleva, the boss of Switzerland’s largest trade union, says wage discrimination should be eliminated before women are made to work longer. She wants voters to say ‘no’ to a reform of the old-age pension system on September 25.

This content was published on September 8, 2022 - 

Katy Romy

After two previous reform efforts failed at the ballot box in 2004 and 2017, the Swiss are set to vote again on a proposal to revamp the pension system to ensure its financial viability.

Women’s retirement age to be voted on again
Jul 29, 2022 Raising the retirement age for women remains a stumbling block.

The central plank of the reform is an increase in the retirement age for women from 64 to 65, putting them on an equal footing with men. Government, parliament, and parties from the right and centre all say this is a necessary measure. But the change provoked an outcry from the left and trade unions, who collected 150,000 signatures to force a referendum.

For Vania Alleva, the president of Switzerland’s largest trade union Unia, the reform is unacceptable.

SWI swissinfo.ch: Two attempts to reform the pension system have already failed. Can Switzerland afford to say ‘no’ again?

Vania Alleva: The pension system has no structural problems. It is solid, it has no liquidity issues. The latest results show this: last year, it made a profit of CHF2.6 billion ($2.64 billion). There is no need for this reform, which is at the expense of women.

SWI: But without reform the system will be in deficit from 2029 onwards, according to projections by the Federal Social Insurance Office. How would we continue to finance pensions?

V.A.: The authorities’ forecasts are too pessimistic. Every ten years, the government makes a mistake in its predictions, leaving it out by several billion francs. The system will certainly have to shoulder the retirement of the baby boomer generation. However, we can find other ways to solve this transitional problem, if we have to. It is a question of political will.

SWI: What solutions do the left and the unions propose to deal with this problem?

V.A.: First of all, existing wage discrimination must be eliminated. Beyond that, there are various ways of strengthening the first pillar [the state pension scheme], because in any case we need to increase pensions, which are currently too low. We have proposed a very concrete solution to achieve this: the Swiss National Bank initiative, a proposal to use the central bank’s billions of profits to boost the pension system.


Is it necessary to raise the retirement age for women, or are there other ways to secure pensions?
On September 25, Swiss citizens will decide whether to raise the retirement age for women from 64 to 65.

SWI: Most OECD countries have already increased the retirement age and eliminated the gender gap. Can Switzerland afford not to follow the international trend?

V.A.: We have to take into account the reality of the Swiss labour market, which is not rosy for older workers. People between the ages of 55 and 64 have the highest unemployment rates. And a report published at the end of 2021 by the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs showed that the number of 55 to 64-year-olds forced to leave the labour market altogether – due to disability, illness or lack of opportunity – increased between 2010 and 2020.

The situation is even more difficult in female-dominated professions like care work. A survey carried out by Unia before the pandemic showed that almost half of care workers think they will not be able to work until they reach retirement age. This shows that we can’t afford to increase the age even further. It would mean more unemployment.

SWI: The women most affected by this reform (born between 1961 and 1969) will benefit from compensation measures, in particular the possibility to retire as young as 62 with a smaller reduction in their pension. Are these measures not enough?

V.A.: This reform means losing a year’s pension, which will cost women CHF26,000, even though their pensions are already a third lower than men’s. The compensation measures are completely inadequate. We should also be aware that this dismantling of the pension system is just the first step towards raising the retirement age to 67 for everyone.

SWI: Pension inequality is mainly due to the second pillar (occupational pensions), not so much the first pillar (state-backed old-age pensions). Isn’t the left fighting the wrong battle?

V.A.: Not at all! It’s essential not to weaken the first pillar, which is the fairest and most balanced of the [three-pillar] system. It should rather be strengthened, because one in three women has no second pillar coverage and has to get by on the first. Of course, we also have to find solutions to slow down the decline in second-pillar payouts. Representatives of employees, employers and the government actually reached a compromise to reform the occupational pension scheme, but it was thrown out in parliament. That’s our next battle.



Switzerland mulls raising the retirement age for women
Mar 19, 2021 Like in many industrialised countries, Switzerland is trying to align the age of retirement between men and women.

SWI: A differentiated retirement age is the remnant of a patriarchal system, with the argument of the government in the last century being that women had a “physiological disadvantage” compared to men. Why should we preserve this old-fashioned model?

V.A.: What’s old-fashioned and unconstitutional is the fact that women continue to suffer big wage discriminations. They earn on average 19% less than men. Equal pay is enshrined in law, in the constitution, but we continue to avoid the problem. If these inequalities were ended, the money this reform wants to gain at the expense of women would flow naturally into the coffers of the pension system. It would be more profitable.

SWI: Still, many women support the reform. Isn’t it misleading for the left and the unions to use this as an argument for equality?

V.A.: Maybe the right-wing women who launched the campaign for reform have high salaries and no financial worries. Lawyers or university professors will be able to take a pension cut of CHF26,000. But women with low incomes and limited means will feel the full impact. Pensions for couples will also suffer.

SWI: Backers of the reform believe that allowing women to retire earlier is not a way to eliminate wage discrimination. Wouldn't it be better to increase their income and improve childcare, for example?

V.A.: We have been fighting discrimination and inequality for decades and will continue to do so. We did not have the support of women reform activists when it came to revising the Gender Equality Act or fighting for pay rises in professions where women are predominantly employed. These professions continue to be poorly paid, even though the pandemic has highlighted how important they are. All this has implications for old-age pensions. One in nine women has to claim supplementary benefits to get by in retirement. This problem must be solved first, rather than asking them to work longer to earn less.

SWI: The left and the unions also oppose the second part of the reform, an increase in value-added tax from 7.7% to 8.1%. But the measure would bring in around CHF1.4 billion per year to strengthen the pension system. Can we really do without this windfall?

V.A.: People already face rising prices, and a steep increase in health insurance premiums is expected in September. Against this backdrop, a VAT hike would be too heavy a burden on households. We are expected to pay more while our pensions are cut. It’s not acceptable.

Below: an opposing viewpoint from Brenda Duruz McEvoy, pensions expert at the employers’ association in canton Vaud.

Pensions vote: a yes would ‘help to eliminate inequalities’
Sep 8, 2022 The revamp of the pension system would boost the financial situation of retired women, says Brenda Duruz McEvoy.

Translated from French by Catherine Hickley/dos

Switzerland tops UN Human Development Index for first time
 

Girl jumping by the river Rhine, Basel © Keystone / Georgios Kefalas

Switzerland topped the UN country ranking of human development with incomes and life expectancy rising in 2021.

This content was published on September 8, 2022 

Virginie Mangin

Switzerland has ranked first in the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Human Development Index in 2021, mainly due to a rise in life expectancy and a rebound of its income per capita, following the end of all Covid-19 restrictions in the country.

This is a first for Switzerland, which ranked third in 2020.

Life expectancy reached 84 years in 2021, up from 83.1 years in 2020. The country’s income per capita hit $93,457 (CHF91,246) in 2021, a sharp rise from 2020, when it was $86,850. This follows global trends, with the pandemic knocking more than a year and a half off global life expectancy and plunging the global economy into recession.

“In 2021, Switzerland has a nice rebound in the life expectancy indicator. This was not the case for all countries, some of which saw their life expectancy continue to fall in 2021,” said Yanchun Zhang, chief statistician for the UNDP, in an interview with SWI swissinfo.ch.

The Human Development Index (HDI), published annually by the UNDP, measures a nation’s health, education, and standard of living. The index overall has fallen for the last two years – the first time since the index was launched 32 years ago – due to the pandemic, stalling global economic growth and the effects of climate change.

“This drop is almost universal but also deepening. If you track the historical HDI, every year some countries see a decline but no more than 10%, so less than 20 countries, but this year decline is a global shock. More than 40% of these countries have two consecutive years of decline, ” the report published on Thursday said.

Data from 191 countries show 90% failed to achieve a better, healthier, more secure life for their population over the past two years, setting the index back five years.

“Human development has fallen back to its 2016 levels, reversing much of the progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals. Without a sharp change of course, we may be heading towards even more deprivations and injustice,” the report warned.

South America, Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia have been hit particularly hard by the pandemic, with countries such as the Philippines still imposing partial lockdowns on much of the country. These regions have also suffered record drought and floods in 2021, the hottest year on record. Pakistan is currently struggling with heavy monsoon rains that have inundated swathes of the country. Floods have so far affected some 33 million people and caused at least 1,343 deaths over the past weeks.

“The world is scrambling to respond to back-to-back crises. We have seen with the cost of living and energy crises that, while it is tempting to focus on quick fixes like subsidising fossil fuels, immediate relief tactics are delaying the long-term systemic changes we must make,” said Achim Steiner, UNDP Administrator.
Swiss exception

Switzerland was part of a cluster of countries that includes Norway and Iceland, which rebounded in 2021.

Nonetheless, a breakdown of Switzerland’s scores on the index points to certain disparities in the country, notably in gender development.

“Concerning the gender development index, which tracks human development of women compared to men, Switzerland has room to improve. Switzerland is in Group 2, the second-best performance group, which means female human development needs to catch up with male development to achieve gender parity,” said Zhang from the UNDP.

Between 1990 and 2021, Switzerland's HDI value rose by 13%.

‘We must reduce our meat consumption’
 

The initiative is an opportunity for Swiss farmers because the market will no longer be flooded with cheap competing  products from abroad, says Meret Schneider.

 © Keystone / Gaetan Bally

On September 25, Swiss citizens will vote on a ban on intensive livestock farming. The initiative aims to eradicate factory farming and calls for stricter import regulations for animal products.

 This content was published on September 6, 2022 -  

“We should have fewer animals but keep them in a more dignified way,” says Zurich’s Green Party parliamentarian Meret Schneider. She is a leading advocate for veganism and is also the co-manager of Sentience Politics, the animal rights organisation that launched the initiative. In an interview with swissinfo.ch, she explains why she supports the cause.



Animal welfare: people’s initiative takes aim at factory farming

This content was published on Sep 5, 2022

 Swiss voters are deciding on a proposed ban on factory farming, a sensitive issue in a country that already has strict animal welfare laws.
SWI swissinfo.ch

Switzerland has some of the strictest animal protection laws and animal husbandry is comparatively small. Do we need more regulations?

Meret Schneider: Of course, Switzerland is well positioned when it comes to animal protection legislation, and we have fewer animals than other countries. However, farmers are still allowed to keep 27,000 broiler chickens in one single barn with 14 chickens packed per square metre. That’s certainly overcrowding.

There is no point in wondering if the situation is worse elsewhere or what other countries are doing. We should rather ask ourselves whether the way we manage our animals ensures their welfare. Do we protect their dignity? There is certainly a lot of room for improvement.

SWI: Does this mean that animals are not sufficiently protected in Switzerland?

M.S.: I’ll leave it to the readers to decide. In Switzerland, a conventional broiler chicken is allowed to live for 30 days during which it is fattened to such an extent that it is unable to stand up on its own two feet. The chickens are then slaughtered on a piecework basis. Laying hens are gassed after ten months because they lose their productivity even though they can live to be 14 years old. They often suffer from breastbone fractures which is due to their selective breeding for increased egg laying. Pigs live on one square metre of concrete without bedding which gives them joint pain. In my view we are far from protecting animal welfare.

SWI: Opponents argue that if accepted, the initiative could lead to a massive fall in Swiss animal products and a price rise of 20% to 40%. Wouldn’t that be a problem for you?

M.S.: This number is far too high because it was calculated based on prices for organic products. It doesn’t make sense. The initiative will not oblige farmers to meet the envisaged organic standards but use them as guidelines of how to protect animal welfare. There will be fewer animal products on the marker which is in line with consumers’ dietary habits. Meat consumption has been continuously on the decline for a while.

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We must severely reduce the consumption of animal products anyway due to climate change and resource depletion. Of course, prices will increase but not as much as the initiative’s opponents claim. At the end of the day, a price hike would be appropriate. Animal products are luxury items that require a great deal of resources. And as long as the Swiss throw away a third of the food they buy, it is hard to understand why anything would be too expensive.


Swiss factory farming ban to be decided at the ballot box
This content was published on Jul 29, 2022

 On September 25, Swiss citizens will vote on a ban on intensive livestock farming.

SWI: Farmers will certainly face higher costs if they, let’s say, are required to convert their stables. Does the initiative take this into account?

M.S.: Absolutely. According to our proposal, the government will support the farmers. We demand subsidies which is something we emphasise again and again. At the same time, we must not forget that the transition period is 25 years, which is a whole generation. We certainly have enough time.

SWI: Opponents of the initiative claim that farmers would have to adopt the requirements for organic certification. This would curb the consumers’ freedom of choice. Is there any truth in it?

M.S.: As I mentioned before, farmers will not be obliged to adopt organic standards and consumers’ freedom of choice is already limited. For example, keeping hens in battery cages is banned in Switzerland. This was a political decision which was supported by the people. We do not want to keep our hens in a way that is against animal welfare. Animal dignity is enshrined in the Swiss Constitution. The same applies to other animal products.

SWI: Swiss resources are not sufficient to feed the whole population. Wouldn’t the initiative reduce our self-sufficiency rate even further?

M.S.: We are far from being self-sufficient. Swiss farms rely on hybrid laying hens for egg production or broiler chickens for meat. These hybrid animals were not bred in Switzerland and their parent stock were imported. When we talk about self-sufficiency, we must bear in mind that we import parent stock, as well as over one million tonnes of fodder every year.




If we cut back on the number of animals and rely more on grazing animals - such as cattle, cows, sheep and goats - which are adapted to our pastures, we will be more self-sufficient. Switzerland has the right topography for grazing animals.

SWI: Isn’t there a risk that the initiative will boost imports from countries where animal welfare is less respected than in Switzerland?

M.S.: This initiative would prevent exactly that. Imported products would have to meet Swiss standards. It would be a great opportunity for Swiss farmers as the market would not be flooded with cheap products such as poultry from Brazil or beef from Argentina. Animals in these countries are often kept according to standards that would be banned under our initiative.

SWI: Critics claim that if accepted, the initiative would violate Switzerland’s obligations towards the World Trade Organisation (WTO). What do you think about that?

M.S.: That’s not a problem. There are already WTO regulations according to which import restrictions are justified and possible if products contradict public morals of the respective society. We have seen this with the import ban on seal products or eggs from caged hens. Accepting the initiative would send a very strong signal that says: “We don't want this as a society.” This would even be compliant with the WTO.

Opposing viewpoint: Swiss People’s Party’s parliamentarian Marcel Dettling explains in an interview why he is against the initiative on the ban on intensive livestock farming

‘The Swiss love their meat’

This content was published on Sep 6, 2022 Animal welfare: Marcel Dettling urges a “no” vote to help keep prices down and avoid a surge in imports.


Swiss Politics

GIANNIS MAVRIS

Are you prepared to pay more for animal products if it means keeping animals in a more species-appropriate manner?
The factory farming initiative wants to anchor the protection of the dignity of farm animals and the ban on factory farming in the constitution.

Adapted from German by Billi Bierling

Steel mill applies for reduced working hours due to energy costs

High energy prices have forced a steel mill in Switzerland to prepare for short-time working to avoid layoffs. 

 

© Keystone / Gaetan Bally

 This content was published on September 4, 2022 -

The Stahl Gerlafingen steel plant in the canton of Solothurn has been granted permission to resort to short-time working from October to December as a preventive measure. The mill consumes as much electricity as 70,000 households and is expecting a bill of CHF45 million for October, writes the NZZ am Sonntag.

This is more than the annual electricity cost, said company director Alain Creteur. The factory, owned by Italian Beltrame Group, produces around 2,600 tonnes of steel every day.

In Switzerland, when a company finds itself in difficulty, it can temporarily reduce the working hours of its staff (known as short-time working). The employees then work at a lower percentage and the employer pays a lower salary. The unemployment insurance compensates 80% of the loss of income of the employee on short-time work.

The measure was used by many Swiss companies in recent years as a result of restrictions related to the Covid pandemic. This is one of the first cases of a company using short-time working to deal with the energy crisis caused by the war in Ukraine.

Switzerland ranks among worst European states for gender income gap

 In 2018, Switzerland was ranked third out of 30 European countries – behind the Netherlands and Austria - with the largest overall wage gap between women and men

Women in Switzerland earn 43.2% less than men and draw less pension due to higher rates of part-time work.

This content was published on September 8, 2022 
Keystone-SDA/Reuters/SRF/sb

The Gender Overall Earnings Gap (GOEG) study, requested by parliament in 2019, showed Switzerland performed relatively poorly compared to other European countries.

“In 2018, the GOEG for Switzerland was 43.2%. This means that women’s earnings are 43.2% lower than men’s for all hours worked between the ages of 15 and 64,” the Federal Statistical Office said in a statementExternal link on Wednesday.

In 2018, Switzerland was rankedExternal link third out of 30 European countries – behind the Netherlands and Austria - with the largest overall wage gap between women and men.

The report said this big difference between the sexes in Switzerland is mainly due to the “high proportion of women who work part-time”. Women make up half of the highly skilled workforce, but work fewer hours. While 63% of all employed women aged 25 to 54 work part-time in the Alpine country, the figure is only 28% in the European Union.

In 2020, the gender pension gap was 34.6%, the report stated. The average total annual pension for women was CHF35,840 ($36,456), CHF18,924 lower than that for men. This reflected differences in employment participation, the effects of family and life models, and wage inequality between the sexes over time.

The data come ahead of a nationwide vote on September 25 whether to reform the state pension system by raising women’s retirement age by a year to 65 – the same as that for men – and increasing value-added tax rates to help fund the system.

Swiss court gives Nord Stream 2 more time to avoid insolvency

The Swiss company behind the Russian gas pipeline Nord Stream 2 has received a four-month extension to try to repay its debts. 

Keystone / Jens Buettner

This content was published on September 8, 2022
Keystone-SDA/ac

The Zug cantonal court in Switzerland, where Nord Stream 2 AG is headquartered, granted the company a second extension, according to an entry in the Swiss Official Gazette of Commerce published on Thursday. The firm has until January 10, 2023 to turn things around and avoid bankruptcy proceedings.

In May, the court granted a provisional moratorium against bankruptcy proceedings for the first time, which was valid until September 10. This period has now been extended by another four months.

Nord Stream 2 is a subsidiary of the Russian gas company Gazprom and has its headquarters in the low-tax canton of Zug, located 30 kilometres south of Zurich. The pipeline, which was laid and completed through the Baltic Sea, was to bring Russian gas to Germany. However, the German government put the approval process for Nord Stream 2 on hold in view of Russia's war against Ukraine. The US imposed sanctions on Nord Stream 2 AG, prohibiting further business with the company.

The Zug economic authority had already spoken of massive payment difficulties as a result of the sanctions imposed on Nord Stream 2 and of imminent "bankruptcy" at the beginning of March. More than hundred employees in Zug were laid off at that time.

Quality issues delay sale of cannabis products in Basel pilot scheme

 

Other Swiss cities have applied to carry out the same cannabis product trials as in Basel. 

© Keystone / Gaetan Bally

Switzerland's first pilot project for the legal sale of cannabis products has been delayed after some of the initial stock failed quality control tests.

This content was published on September 9, 2022 
swissinfo.ch/mga

The ‘Weed Care’ experiment in the city of Basel was supposed to launch on September 15External link. But it has been put on hold because traces of pesticides were found in some of the supposedly organic plants.

Basel’s health department said on Friday that the delay could last several weeks or even months as products must now be analysed again by an independent body.

Six cannabinoid products – four types of cannabis flowers and two types of hashish – were due to go on sale in nine pharmacies from next week.

The Federal Office of Public Health approved the pilot scheme in April as part of a project by the University of Basel, its psychiatric clinics and the cantonal health department.

It is intended to help evaluate the effects of new regulations on the recreational use of cannabis and ultimately combat black market distribution.
Pilot sale over-subscribed

Several other local authorities, including Zurich, Geneva and Bern, have also applied to roll out similar trials. The Swiss parliament laid the legal basisExternal link for such small-scale initiatives in September 2020.

The Basel pilot, which will allow 370 people to participate in the sale of approved products, is over-subscribed with 700 applications.

Basel health officials will now consider options, including different products from the official supplier or even examining different potential suppliers.

The recreational use of cannabis remains banned in Switzerland but it can be consumed for medical reasons. In 2008, voters rejected a proposal to decriminalise cannabis consumption.



Swiss cannabis market - a delicate balancing act

Dec 1, 2020 Producing and selling hemp inflorescences with low THC content has been legal in Switzerland since 2017. But the market hasn't been a gold mine.

Giant ‘water battery’ plant inaugurated in Switzerland
 

The Nant de Drance hydroelectric power plant has six giant turbines in a cavern hollowed out of a mountain

© Keystone / Laurent Gillieron

A Swiss pumped-storage power station, which can both produce electricity and store power from other sources, has been officially inaugurated.

This content was published on September 9, 2022 

The Nant de Drance hydroelectric plant in western Switzerland has been operational since July. Its turbines can generate 900 megawatts of electricity per hour by releasing water from an upper reservoir through dam sluice gates.

This is a similar amount of electricity production as the Gösgen nuclear power plant in Switzerland, making Nant de Drance one of the largest power producers in Europe.

The Nant de Drance facility can also store power by pumping the water back up to the reservoir ready for re-use when more electricity is needed. The storage capacity of the plant is equivalent to more than 400,000 car batteries.

It was built to cope with fluctuations in wind and solar-power supply and help stabilise electricity output Europe-wide.

It could, for example, store surplus energy from solar plants in Europe to be later released when the sun is not shining.

The Nant de Drance station is built in a remote region of canton Valais at an elevation of 2,225 metres above sea level next to the Vieux Emosson reservoir.

NGOs oppose extension of Swiss secret service powers

 

Swiss intelligence officers have been criticised and reprimanded for abuse of power in the past. 

Keystone / Sascha Steinbach

The Swiss intelligence service should not be given additional powers to monitor for signs of terrorist activity, say NGOs, trade unions and left-leaning political groups.

This content was published on September 9, 2022 -  swissinfo.ch/mga

But political parties from the centre and right have given their backing to a government proposal to better protect national security.

In May, the government said the Federal Intelligence Service (FIS) should be given greater access to financial recordsExternal link and more freedom to keep an eye on extremist groups. The consultation period for the proposed law change ended on Friday.

A coalition of 15 NGOs, including Public Eye, Amnesty International Switzerland, Democratic Lawyers Switzerland and Operation Libero, said the expansion of surveillance would come at the expense of fundamental rights.

FIS has already been criticised and reprimanded for keeping files on left-wing politicians and groups External link without good cause.

In 2016, voters backed a strengthening of the lawExternal link to allow intelligence officers to tap private phone lines and monitor cyberspace activities to prevent terrorist attacks.

But not everyone is against a fresh extension of FIS powers. The People’s Party want the proposed law amendment to also oblige doctors and social workers to give up information to combat terrorism and extremism.

Other parties in the centre and right of the political spectrum endorsed the government’s plans, saying they are essential for national security and include enough safeguards to prevent abuse.

The prosed law change will now go to parliament and potentially a nationwide referendum.