Workers in the Swiss metalworking sector demand their share of the profits

SWITZERLAND:  Since the beginning of the year, the situation in the Swiss machinery, electrical equipment and metalworking sector has witnessed a significant improvement, with a 17 per cent increase in domestic orders and a 15 per cent increase in orders from abroad.

Moreover, SWISSMEM, the Swiss employers' association, is expecting sales to continue to improve in the second half of the year. The 150 delegates at the UNIA conference recently held in Berne approved a two to three per cent pay claim for the negotiations that will soon begin at company level. The sector employs more than 300,000 workers in Switzerland.

Closing the conference, Fabienne Kühn, member of the UNIA executive and Conference President said, "before the crisis, wages in the sector were not keeping pace with the very high profits recorded in the sector. And when the crisis came, workers were the first to suffer the consequences. Now that we are experiencing an increase in growth, it is high time that wages reflect the new situation and reward the efforts made by workers."

Delegates also adopted a resolution on temporary work. After a small decrease, temporary work is once again on the increase in Switzerland. "It is unacceptable that companies sometimes have more than 20 per cent of their workforce on temporary contracts even though they are in practice employed on a permanent basis. These employers actively contribute to the increase in precarious work in the labour market and by-pass the sector's collective agreement. The conference resolution made the following demands to employers:

• After six months employment, temporary workers' contracts should be changed to make them permanent.
• Employers must not by-pass the provisions of the collective agreement.
• Current local or sector wage levels (including sick pay and holiday pay) should also apply to temporary workers.
• The collective agreement should include minimum and mandatory wage rates for temporary workers.