Switzerland today

As autumn gets into full swing, Switzerland gets ready for agriculture fairs and worker strikes.

Here is our selection of news and other stories from Thursday.

Keystone / Gian Ehrenzeller

In the news: Olma fair, transport strikes, pension bump and automated Migros

• Switzerland’s largest public fair Olma opens its doors External linktoday in St Gallen. Politicians pose for photos with pigs and city slickers taste some local farm produce. The highlight of the fair is the best Alpine cheese competition where cheeses in five categories compete for CHF20,000 in prize money. 
• After Zurich airport’s ground staff, it is the turn of Geneva’s public transport workers to go on strikeExternal link for better pay. The work stoppage began on Wednesday and will continue today.
• The retired do not need to strike yet. From next year, monthly AHV/AVS payments will rise by between CHF30 to CHF60External link. The minimum pension amount will increase from CHF1,195 to CHF1,225 per month, and the maximum one from CHF2,390 to CHF2,450. The government took inflation and salary rises into account when fixing pensions for 2023. 
• Supermarket chain Migros has launched its first automated (or employee-free depending on how you look at it) store branch called TeoExternal link in the town of Bürglen in Thurgau. It will be open round the clock every day of the week and feature over 800 products.

Keystone / Laurent Gillieron

Turning back time: Watches are cool again

Christmas is only a few months away and it’s time to start planning holiday gifts for loved ones. How about a Swiss watch? Too old-fashioned you say? This NZZ article External linkbegs to differ. Apparently those under 40 are experiencing a renewed appreciation for mechanical wristwatches. In a world where everything is consumed digitally, mechanical craftsmanship is coming back in fashion.  

swissinfo.ch/Delali Adogla-Bessa

Chocolate guilt: More than just putting on the pounds

As the weather gets colder I find myself spending more time indoors. I also start craving more chocolate. A natural response to nature’s rhythms? After all, the main cocoa bean harvest season starts in October in West Africa. But the taste of chocolate can be bitter-sweet with concerns around deforestation, child labour and even illegal gold mining as I recently discovered with the help of my Ghanaian counterpart Delali Adogla-Bessa.