Switzerland Today
Dear Swiss Abroad,
Purple, a colour that traditionally denotes justice and dignity, flooded the streets of Switzerland today. Thousands of women, children and other protesters took part in this year’s women’s strike, officially rebranded as a Feminist Strike, to fight inequality.
Read on for more news and stories from Switzerland on Wednesday, June 14.
In the news: UK and Switzerland services deal, Art Basel and Leopard tanks.
- Britain and Switzerland today inked an agreement to recognise each other’s professional qualifications in services sectors like architecture and auditing. The deal follows talks last month between the two countries on a new post-Brexit free-trade agreement, aimed at boosting financial and professional services exports.
- Works by artists such as Louise Bourgeois, George Condo, Alexander Calder and Swiss-born Paul Klee have been sold for millions of dollars on the first day of Art Basel, pointing to a revival in art fairs. The prestigious annual art fairExternal link takes place in the city in northwest Switzerland from June 15-18.
- The House of Representatives says Switzerland can decommission and re-sellExternal link 25 old battle tanks back to their German manufacturer. In turn, Berlin would be able to fill the gaps in its army that were created by supporting Ukraine with German tanks. The decision must still be debated in the Senate.
- Senator Isabelle Chassot, of the Centre Party, will chairExternal link the parliamentary commission of enquiry into the emergency takeover of Credit Suisse by its rival UBS. Franziska Ryser of the Green Party will be its vice-president. A parliamentary enquiry committee is the Swiss parliament’s most powerful investigative instrument. This will be only the fifth in history.
Swiss women take to streets to fight inequality and sexism.
Thousands of women, children and other protesters, many dressed in purple, took part in a national strike in major towns and cities across Switzerland today demanding equal pay and action on a range of issues including discrimination and harassment in the workplace.
Big rallies and numerous events were heldExternal link on the hot summer day in Basel, Bern, Zurich, Lucerne, St Gallen, Lausanne and Geneva.
The gender pay gap is one of the key demands at this year’s women’s strikeExternal link, officially rebranded as a Feminist StrikeExternal link. The Swiss Trade Union Federation says women took home 43% less income than men on average last year. Some of this discrepancy can be explained by more women working part-time hours and taking on lower-paid jobs such as cleaning.
But the Federal Statistical Office says women also earn 18% less than men for doing comparable jobs, making Switzerland one of the worst countries in Europe for unequal pay.
“Women often earn salaries that are lower than men and more regularly do unpaid work,” declared Interior Minister Alain Berset, who holds the rotating Swiss presidency this year. “They are also victims of discrimination and harassment.”
Today’s strike action shows “how indignation can be turned into political action”, he added.
The previous national women’s strike in Switzerland was held in 2019. Earlier this year Switzerland’s Trade Union Federation complained that “virtually no progress” had been made on women’s rights since then.
The 2019 women’s strike organised by trade unions brought together almost 500,000 people. It came almost three decades after a 1991 strike, when women demanded that a constitutional article on equality of the sexes be translated into concrete legislation.
Brienz-Brinzauls rockslide threat accelerates.
The mass of rock slipping down the mountain above the Graubünden mountain village (in photo above) appears to be gathering momentum. Large rocks and boulders crashed down crumbling slope this morning.
Parts of the fastest-moving section are moving at over five metres a day, local officials announced on Twitter at lunchtime.
“The mountain is more active than ever,” said Albula municipality spokesperson Christian Gartman.
A day earlierExternal link a large mass of rock thundered down the unstable slope above Brienz.
The village of 86 residents has already been evacuated with the two million cubic metre section of the mountain threatening to engulf homes.
Pro-Russian hackers step up attacks against Swiss targets.
Swiss authorities say a pro-Russian hacking group has intensified its cyberattacks against Switzerland, with the hackers claiming to have taken down several key websites including that of Geneva Airport.
Today the authorities in the cities of Zurich, Lausanne and St Gallen and canton Basel City saidExternal link they had been hit by distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) cyberattacks.
Switzerland’s main government websites, including that of parliament and the federal administration, have been hit in recent days by a DDoS attack claimed by the NoName group.
In a statement to Reuters yesterday, Switzerland’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) described the intensity of the DDoS attack as “exceptionally high” and warned some government websites could remain inaccessible.
The attack comes as the Swiss parliament prepares for a video address by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky scheduled for tomorrow. NoName links the DDoS attacks to Zelensky’s speech, according to a Tages-Anzeiger report.External link
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