Petition launched to stop outsourcing of Swiss Post, Swisscom jobs

"Stop the relocations of Swiss Post and Swisscom" – a petition has been launched Keystone-SDA

A public-sector union is launching a petition to halt the outsourcing of jobs abroad by Swiss Post and Swisscom.

The campaign, launched by the union Transfair, is urging the Swiss government and parliament to take action to put a stop to what it considers to be a development that runs counter to the country’s interests.

Swiss Post and Swisscom are majority-owned by the Confederation and, consequently, by the Swiss people, the organisation argues in a statement published on Thursday.

Yet “they are transferring jobs and know-how abroad, simply to cut costs”, said Transfair’s president, Greta Gysin, who is also a Green Party parliamentarian. “In this way, Switzerland is losing control over sensitive activities. And the Confederation is allowing both groups to operate freely, rather than imposing clear rules.”

The campaign pointed out that since 2022, Swiss Post has transferred 130 IT jobs to Lisbon. Swisscom, meanwhile, has outsourced over 600 positions to Latvia and The Netherlands and opened offices in Kosovo, Poland and Bulgaria. The telecoms firm has announced plans to open a new unit in Lisbon. Swiss Post, however, has had to temporarily put its plans in the Portuguese capital on hold until summer 2027.

Both companies provide systemically important services ranging from parcel delivery and payment processing to internet and telephone services, the trade union said. It argued that the performance of these tasks and the specialist skills required must remain in Switzerland.

“Without Swiss specialist know-how, the quality of the services on which the population depends will suffer,” the statement reads. The union also pointed to security concerns. Due to offshoring, the skilled workforce also risks losing prospects within Switzerland: apprenticeship places are being lost and young people lack opportunities to enter the labour market.

In its petition, Transfair calls for existing jobs not to be relocated abroad if they are currently based in Switzerland and if the outsourcing is primarily aimed at cutting costs. Furthermore, strategic and sensitive activities must remain within Switzerland, particularly where they are crucial to public services, security of supply and national security.

The petition will remain open for signatures until November 30 and will be submitted to the government and parliament in December.

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Translated from Italian, reviewed by an English Department journalist