The vpod/ssp public services has launched a campaign and petition – “Nein zu EFAs” – to try to block changes to the healthcare financing system in Switzerland that will have seriously negative consequences for staff and patients.
The LVSADA health workers’ union reached an agreement with the Ministry of Health on 18 October that will deliver pay increases for doctors (10.6%), nurses (6.5%) and assistant nurses (6.9%) in 2024. This means that medical personnel will have seen pay rises of around 23-24% for the three-year period 2022-24. There will also be an additional €40 per month (gross, average) for non-medical personnel in 2024. The agreement was negotiated with the new health minister and resolves a long-standing dispute over pay.
EPSU sent a letter to the Ministry of Health in support of demands by the LVSADA trade union that promised pay increases for health workers should be honoured. The union says that in April this year the Ministry made a commitment to award doctors a 4.5% pay increase this year along with pay rises for other medical staff. The union called for the increases to be applied from 1 July and then conceded 1 September as a fall-back date. However, the Ministry is now claiming that funding is not available for pay increases as the priority is to focus on increasing services. LVSADA is clear that unless
The vpod/ssp trade union is busy building support for a national demonstration in Bern on 16 September with a key demand for a 5% pay rise. The union highlights recent data on price increases, particularly for energy, while average real pay has fallen for three consecutive years – the first time this has happened for over 70 years. The data also show how the low paid have fared the worse with women forming the majority of this group. Vpod/ssp points out that not only are big private sector employers making large profits but public authorities also have the funds to cover pay rises for their
After lengthy negotiations the LVSADA health workers’ union has secured an increase to the pay rises offered by the ministry of health. The agreement stipulates that the average monthly salary for medical practitioners will be increased by €120 from 1 April which equates to 6.1%, that is 2.4% higher than the initial offer. Nurses, midwives, physician assistants will see a 10.1% increase (an improvement of 3.9% on the initial offer) and junior staff, including nursing assistants, will benefit from a 16.1% pay rise (an improvement of 6.3%).
The vpod/ssp public services trade union is mobilising its members around the country in support of action to secure higher pay. The union is organising a rally in Bern on 18 November where the regional government is proposing a pay rise of only 2% leaving workers with an effective pay cut. A day of strike action has already taken place in Geneva on 12 October and further action is planned for both 3 and 24 November. Vpod/ssp members in Fribourg are demanding a 4% pay rise in the face of the 2.3% on offer. The union is collecting signatures for a petition which will be handed in on 4 December
The vpod/ssp public services union is mobilising its members around the country to call for higher pay in response to the cost-of-living crisis. In Fribourg the demand will be for a 4% pay increase in response to the regional government’s proposed 2.3% offer. The main demand in the Vaud region will be for a special payment of CHF 100 (€103) for all employees to to compensate for the increase in energy costs. In Geneva, the vpod region is calling for a 5% increase from 1 January 2023 while in Neuchâtel the claim is for 4%-5% percent while in the Jura region the target is 3%. There has been a
The LVSADA health workers’ union organised two further warning strikes on 27 and 28 September following an initial action on 27 July. The union is pressing the government to agree to pay increases for all health workers in recognition of the work they continue to do under difficult circumstances. LVSADA says that both the European Commission and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development have acknowledged the need for action, including improvements to pay, to help tackle staff shortages. The union is angry that the government has unilaterally put forward a new pay system which
The LVSADA health workers’ union, supported by associations representing doctors and nurses, organised a warning strike and protest on 27 July, arguing that the government had failed to meet commitments to increase pay. The union says that a 10% increase should have been paid on 1 July on the current salaries of €1963 for doctors, €1183 for nurses, midwives and other professionals and €745 for support staff. LVSADA further argues that the government has also failed to meet a commitment from 2017 that would have seen these salaries reach €2327, €1396 and €931 respectively. Depending on the
The vpod/ssp public services union is continuing to sound the alarm over urgent staff shortages in healthcare. It says that action is needed to retain staff as well as recruit new workers and that initiatives to shorten the working week can help. Reductions to weekly working hours have been introduced or are being planned in the Wetzikon and Felix Platter hospitals along with the Siloah and Lindenhof health groups. Meanwhile, vpod/ssp reports that Aargau hospitals have significantly increased their allowances for weekend and holiday shifts. The union is also continuing to press employers to
The LVSADA health workers’ union was planning to take strike action to put pressure on the government to deliver pay increases that were promised last year. The union had called for a 10% pay rise for health staff from the beginning of January this year but the Ministry of Health has failed to deliver. LVSADA argues that an increase is vital if health sector wages are to keep pace with rapidly rising inflation and average earnings. The union underlines how important protecting purchasing power is as part of the strategy to tackle the major staff shortages across the sector.
The VPOD public services union has reacted positively to the decision by the Zurich regional hospital in Wetzikon to reduce the working week for nurses from 42 to 37.8 hours, with full pay. The initiative runs until the end of 2023 and only applies to nurses who regularly work in the three-shift model, i.e. who also provide night and weekend services. The union launched a charter for health workers in 2019 that called for reduced working hours on full pay as part of a wider range of measures to make substantial improvements to working conditions and improve recruitment and retention. VPOD sees
The vpod/ssp trade union is mobilising for a national demonstration of health workers in Berne on 30 October. The aim of the protest is to highlight the efforts and sacrifices that health workers have made in responding to the COVID-19 crisis. Key demands include a COVID bonus but also action to deal with the long-standing problems of pay and understaffing in the sector. The union is also calling for measures to improve training, work-life balance and retirement provision and argues that pay increases should reflect the arduousness of many health workers’ jobs.
