2023-08-17 10:01:10
Read also: Real wages are expected to stagnate again in 2024
Increased productivity
Labour.Switzerland’s head of economic policy, Thomas Bauer, justified higher wages by increasing worker productivity. Over the past ten years, the Swiss have created 10% more real added value, without real wages being aligned with this increase, according to figures from the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) cited by Mr. Bauer.
And the person in charge to affirm that the profits of these last years were absorbed not by the employees, but by the employers, in particular “under pretext of high costs”, according to the written version of his intervention.
Health premiums and rents
In addition to the decline in real wages, Thomas Bauer mentions the additional pressure posed by health insurance premiums. These have experienced a 23% increase in basic insurance over the last eight years.
The increase in rents is also questioned, in particular for young workers moving into new accommodation. These have increased by 3.3% over the past 12 months. In total, according to the calculations of Travail.Suisse, the additional cost of living for this year and next year should be around 3%.
Read also: The PS, between demands and silences
On Tuesday, the Swiss Employers’ Union had deemed unrealistic and “exaggerated” the 5% increases demanded by the unions. In a document published on wages, she also mentioned a darkening economic situation in Switzerland and real wages having increased on average by 0.3% between 2012 and 2022.
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