Real wages set to rise in Switzerland for first time in three years
Is it too early for Swiss workers to crack open the champagne over wages?
Keystone / Martin Ruetschi
Employees in Switzerland are expected to receive above-inflation pay rises for the first time since 2016, according to a survey of companies. On average, workers are forecast to take home a 1.1% pay hike – a rise of 0.9% when taking inflation into account.
This content was published on
2 minutes
swissinfo.ch/mga
Español
es
Salarios deben aumentar en Suiza por primera vez en tres años
These are the findings of research portal Lohntendenzen.chExternal link, as reported by the NZZ am SonntagExternal link newspaper. The findings point to companies allowing employees to take a share of profits. The top 20 firms in Switzerland have handed out record dividends of CHF40 billion ($40 billion) this year, the newspaper reports.
But the expected wage hikes are not evenly spread around industries. The winners will be information technology employees (+1.3% real hikes), the pharmaceutical and chemical branches (+1.1%), followed by workers at banks and insurance companies (+1%).
People working in the hospitality industry will have to make do with an average real salary rise of +0.4% while teachers can only expect to receive +0.3%.
Employees have more reason to celebrate, according to Lohntendenzen.ch, as they benefit from more flexible working hours and longer holidays than ever before.
However, Switzerland’s image as a land of plenty has been questioned by some. The tax administration earlier this year admitted that wealth is not being evenly distributed, with inequality getting worse.
Train vs plane: would you take a direct train between London and Geneva?
Eurostar is planning to run direct trains from Britain to Germany and Switzerland from the early 2030s. Would you favour the train over the plane? If not, why not?
Zurich laboratory finds intestinal bacteria in coffee machines
This content was published on
Last year, the Zurich Cantonal Laboratory found defects in one in four samples of milk drinks from coffee machines. Too many intestinal bacteria were found in a number of samples.
SWISS Belgrade-Zurich flight forced to land in Germany
This content was published on
Swiss flight LX1413 from Belgrade to Zurich had to make an unscheduled landing today in Friedrichshafen, southern Germany.
New Swiss 3D simulation tool offers better landslide forecasting
This content was published on
A new 3D simulation tool is enabling much more accurate avalanche forecasts. The model, which proved its worth during the landslides in Brienz (GR) and Blatten (VS), could lead to more effective management of alpine risks.
Report warns of rising wealth inequality in Switzerland
This content was published on
Swiss households are becoming wealthier, but inequalities are increasing between the rich and poor, the Swiss Tax Administration warns.
Big firms required to publish gender pay gap in 2021
This content was published on
Large companies in Switzerland will have to analyse wages of men and women starting in 2020 and make the audited results available to staff in 2021.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.