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5 March, 2002Switzerland will continue to have one of the longest legal workweeks in Europe.
SWITZERLAND: If the referendum held last Sunday (March 3, 2002) regarding Switzerland joining the United Nations did manage to finally slip through, with 54.6 per cent of Swiss voters approving official membership in the UN, the vote for a 36-hour workweek unfortunately did not pass.
Unemployment in Switzerland, while comparatively low, is nevertheless on the increase - from 1.6 per cent in June 2001 to 2.4 per cent in December, and expected to reach 3.5 per cent this year. The shorter working time initiative, which would serve to create new jobs and offer extra leisure time, was led by the Swiss Confederation of Trade Unions and supported by the IMF-affiliated metalworkers' union SMUV. Among demands in the trade unions' proposal were:
Reduction of working time, in whatever form, has since long been high on the IMF agenda.
Unemployment in Switzerland, while comparatively low, is nevertheless on the increase - from 1.6 per cent in June 2001 to 2.4 per cent in December, and expected to reach 3.5 per cent this year. The shorter working time initiative, which would serve to create new jobs and offer extra leisure time, was led by the Swiss Confederation of Trade Unions and supported by the IMF-affiliated metalworkers' union SMUV. Among demands in the trade unions' proposal were:
- a progressive reduction of working time (staggered over a period of 8 years) to arrive at 1,872 hours per year, or an average 36-hour workweek - ideally a four-day week;
- a maximum workweek of 48 hours, including overtime (today in Switzerland this limit is 66 hours per week);
- a reduction in overtime working hours, from today's 170 hours to 100 hours per annum, in general to be compensated by time off;
Reduction of working time, in whatever form, has since long been high on the IMF agenda.