Unions denounce wage dumping
Switzerland’s largest trade union, Unia, has protested against wage dumping and called for fair working conditions.
An estimated 15,000 people demonstrated in the capital, Bern – the first public show of force since Unia was founded two weeks ago.
Union leaders expressed outrage over an increasing number of cases of wage dumping, following the opening up of the Swiss labour market to European Union citizens.
Under the terms of a bilateral treaty on the free movement of people, citizens from 15 EU member states no longer need a work permit to apply for a job in Switzerland.
Vasco Pedrina, co-president of Unia, threatened to organise strikes and boycotts if the authorities and employers failed to respond to union demands for strict checks and fair wages.
Addressing the crowds outside the parliament building on Saturday, he said new cases of wage dumping came to light on a daily basis and that both Swiss workers and foreigners were the victims of greedy managers.
Referendum threat
Pedrina reiterated that the unions would challenge an agreement with Brussels to extend access to the Swiss labour market for citizens of the ten new EU member states.
The Swiss parliament is due to debate the issue – alongside a second set of bilateral treaties with the EU – during its regular winter session in December.
Other speakers at Saturday’s protest accused the rightwing Swiss People’s Party and company managers of blocking measures to stop the slide in salaries.
They called for a wage increase of between two and three per cent this year for all workers and employees and an end to salary discrimination of women.
The demonstration was the first public rally organised by the new Unia union, which was founded two weeks ago.
It represents more than 200,000 workers from the engineering, construction, retail and service sectors, and is the largest union in Switzerland.
swissinfo with agencies
An estimated 15,000 demonstrators have condemned wage dumping and called for fair working conditions.
The protest was the first public rally by the new Unia trade union founded earlier this month.
The union reiterated it would challenge a labour treaty with the EU to a nationwide vote.
One in four workers in Switzerland is a foreign national.
Just under 60% of the foreign labour in Switzerland come from EU member countries.
The construction and catering industry, as well as the health sector rely heavily on foreign workers.
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