8 July, 2008260,000 temporary workers in Switzerland win wage increases, medical insurance, and health and safety improvements under historic new national collective agreement.
SWITZERLAND: After a year of negotiations, Unia, an affiliate of the International Metalworkers' Federation, and Swissstaffing, an umbrella organisation for labour agencies, have reached agreement resulting in the first ever national collective agreement for temporary workers in Switzerland.
If approved by the federal government, the three-year contract, which goes into effect on January 1, 2009, will secure a uniform set of rights and standards to approximately 70 per cent of all temporary workers in the country. The agreement is also aimed at regulating the expansion of precarious work.
The new contract will raise the minimum rates of pay for some 180,000 temporary workers in over 100 different job professions. Those who work in industrial settings will not get a pay raise but will now receive medical insurance, paid medical leave, health and safety improvements and opportunities for training. Part-time workers will receive increased benefits and extensions of contracts.
"This is a significant step for workers in Switzerland," said Marcello Malentacchi, IMF general secretary. "For the first time, temporary workers throughout the country will have a national agreement to protect them from exploitation and ensure a uniform standard of rights and conditions. Unions around the world must strive to do the same if we are to eradicate precarious work and its devastating impact on workers and their communities."