Swiss business backs proposed limit on federal staff costs

Business community backs popular initiative on administrative checks and balances Keystone-SDA

Three major Swiss business organisations are backing a popular initiative to impose limits on federal staffing costs.

The Swiss Business Federation economiesuisse, the Swiss Trade Association and the Swiss Employers’ Association are supporting the initiative, partly due to the shortage of skilled workers.

The Young Liberals political group and the three business associations promoted the initiative against a “bloated federal government”.

Economiesuisse director Monika Rühl described the initiative as necessary for a competitive business location, as “the economy needs relief now”.

Roland Müller, director of the Swiss Employers’ Association, warned that the growth of the civil service was exacerbating the shortage of skilled workers in the private sector. According to a study, the federal government pays a salary premium of around 12% for comparable roles, distorting competition for talent.

Urs Furrer, Director of the Swiss Trade Association, emphasised that the administrative brake was a necessary complement to the debt and regulatory brakes. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in particular are unable to compete with the federal government’s pay and employment conditions.

Incentives to reduce bureaucracy

The initiative calls for the federal administration’s personnel expenditure not to grow faster than the median wage in Switzerland in future. This mechanism is intended to prevent excessive growth, in the same way as the debt brake in the financial sector.

According to the initiators, this creates incentives for parliament and the administration to streamline processes and reduce bureaucracy.

Between 2010 and 2024, over 5,600 additional full-time posts were created in the federal administration, representing an increase of 17%, according to Jonas Lüthy, president of the Young Liberals of Switzerland.

Expenditure on staff and external services has risen even more sharply, “namely by 32% to CHF7.1 billion”. This is no longer healthy growth, but rather a structural imbalance.

The committee behind the popular initiative also includes members of parliament from the several parties. The initiative was launched in mid-April. A total of 100,000 valid signatures must be collected by October 14, 2027.

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Translated from German, reviewed by an English Department journalist.