Union goes on the offensive: Travail Suisse demands wage increases of up to 4.5 percent

2023-08-17 08:46:15

Travail Suisse is demanding wage increases of up to 4.5 percent

In the last two years, the real wages of Swiss employees have fallen. The union is therefore demanding a clear adjustment.

Posted today at 10:46 amUpdated 7 hours ago

Travail Suisse believes that significant wage increases are also indicated in the mechanical engineering and metalworking industries.

Photo: Christian Beutler (Keystone/symbol image)

The trade union umbrella organization Travailsuisse called for general wage increases of 3.5 to 4.5 percent in front of the media on Thursday. In the last two years, the real wages of Swiss employees have fallen. “The rising cost of living has made employees poorer in the last two years,” said Johann Tscherrig, a member of Syna’s executive board, according to the text of the speech. He referred to an analysis of wage trends and inflation that Travailsuisse prepared.

Accordingly, real wages in 2023 will be at the 2015 level. Real wages have been falling since 2021. “Three years in a row with declining real wages have never been recorded in the post-war period.”

The main reason for the lower real wages is the increased cost of living. According to the umbrella organization, the effective cost of living is rising much faster than the reported inflation would suggest. This can be explained above all by the sharp rise in health insurance premiums in 2023 and 2024, which will hit middle-income families in particular hard.

Inflation plus productivity increase

Now the unions are demanding significant wage increases. Travailsuisse takes the position that wages should develop in step with prices and productivity. So if the inflation rate was 2 percent and productivity had risen by 1 percent, wages would have to rise by 3 percent, the analysis said. “As a result, the distribution of income between employees, employers and shareholders remains stable.”

Broken down to the various sectors, this resulted in the demand for wage increases of 3.5 to 4.5 percent. In sectors in which the full cost-of-living adjustment was not granted in 2022, there is additional pent-up demand, said Tscherrig.

Hospitality is dissatisfied

According to Travailsuisse, there is scope for wage increases. This shows continued gains in productivity and operating profits, which are now higher than they were before the pandemic.

However, the unions were not very optimistic about the first wage rounds. In the hospitality industry, wage negotiations have already been concluded. Roger Lang, Head of Legal Services and Social Policy at Hotel & Gastro Union, described the result to the media as “sobering”.

Especially in view of the excellent business situation in the hospitality industry, the very high workload and the widespread shortage of workers, the wage agreement was again more than unsatisfactory, said Lang. In addition to the cost-of-living adjustment, the minimum wage will be increased by five francs in real wages. “That’s just enough for one more coffee per month.”

Employers dampen hopes

The Swiss Trade Union Confederation (SBG) appeared before the media at the beginning of July. He called for a general wage increase of five percent. The employers’ association immediately rejected the claim. Such a wage increase would be neither sustainable nor justified for companies, the employers argued.