Switzerland, Malta

Public service unions are gearing up for the autumn round of pay negotiations and a day of action against job cuts and threats to public service provision. There will be demonstrations around the country on 15 September in protest at public spending cutbacks. EPSU affiliate, VPOD/SSP, will be joined by 16 other unions in a series of regional protests. Meanwhile, the union is putting job security and a 2% increase in real pay at the top of its bargaining agenda. [Read more about the day of action at > VPOD->http://www.vpod-ssp.ch/vpod/aktuell/news/aktionen2005.pdf] [Read more about pay (in

The SGB Swiss union federation is running an intersectoral campaign for higher wages and equal pay. It has published a briefing document covering 12 key questions which looks at recent developments in pay - increasing inequality, stagnation of pay in comparison to other countries and, for the public services, a period of lower pay increases in comparison to those in the private sector. There will be a national day of action focussing on equal pay on 14 June and a national demonstration over pay in Bern on 23 September. [Read more at > SGB->http://www.sgb.ch/lohn-kampagne/downloads/06-38d_doe

The VPOD/SSP public service federation is supporting the campaign for gender pay equality organised by the SGB/USS union confederation. In the latest issue of its magazine VPOD highlights the gender pay gap across the public services. A relatively small gap of 9.6% at federal level rises to 12.3% in health and social services at the cantonal level and to 18.8% among administrative workers in the cantons. The union argues that the reasons behind the pay gap include the undervaluing of typically female occupations and the fact that men are often more likely to benefit from bonuses and other

Unions in Switzerland came together on 27 June in a joint press conference to outline their pay campaigns for the year as they build up to the national pay demonstration on 23 September. The VPOD/SSP public service union said that public service pay increases had fallen behind those in the private service sector for the last 12 years. For the public services and energy sector the union was calling for compensation for rising prices, a real pay increase of 3%, closing the gender pay gap, no increase in the gap between the high and low paid, no job cuts and not to rely just on pension scheme

Unions across Switzerland mobilised over 25,000 members for a national demonstration in Bern over pay increases and pay equality. Public sector workers joined the demonstration to make their case for a 4% pay increase to compensate for inflation and begin to recoup the loss in real pay over the last 12 years. Unions also demanded higher increases for women workers to start to reduce the 10%-20% gender pay gap. Public sector unions are particularly angry at their employers plans for further cuts in public spending while implementing take cuts for the higher paid. [Read more at > SGB (FR+DE)-

The SGB/USS trade union federation is putting pressure on the Swiss parliament to push through new measures to tackle the gender pay gap. The parliament will be debating a range of equality-related proposals on 8 March and unions have been pointing out the problems and loopholes with existing legislation. The unions have been compiling new data about the persistence and extent of the gender pay gap across different sectors. Even in the federal and cantonal health services, where women make up over 80% of workers, women earn less than men even taking account of age, length of service and

The government has proposed extending rights for working parents, currently enjoyed in the civil service, right across the public sector. The minimum legal provision of three months' leave and time off for emergencies was much improved by negotiation in the civil service where 12 months of parental leave is available and civil servants have the right to work shorter hours until their children reach the age of 12. Private sector employers have reacted angrily to the proposals fearing that the government might extend them beyond the public sector. [Read more at > EIRO (EN)->http://www.eurofound

The VPOD/SSP public services union is working with other health unions and the SGB/USS trade union confederation to campaign for a major reform of the Swiss healthcare system. The SBK/ASI nurses' association and SVBG/FSAS federation of professional health associations are also supporting the campaign. The unions believe it is possible to move to a more affordable and efficient system with more planning to reduce the costs of what they see as an inequitable and costly system. They are also calling for action on working time and the training and employment of more health specialists. The unions

The SGB/USS trade union confederation is co-ordinating a pay campaign among its affiliates with the key demands being real pay increases of 3%-4% and action to tackle pay inequality. The VPOD/SSP public services union is part of the campaign and notes that the healthier financial situation of public sector organisations means they should end pay restraint. The union warns that cutbacks in recent years are threatening the quality of public services and that there is a risk that the public sector will fail to recruit if pay increase lag behind the public sector. [Read more at > SGB (DE)->http:/

Federal government workers in Switzerland will get a 1% real increase in pay this year, their first real pay increase since 1991. Since 2004 prices have risen by 3.1% and workers have been compensated by one-off payments. These will now be integrated into pay rates. According to a review of the latest pay round by the SGB confederation, pay increases in regional government, the Cantons, range between 2.2% and 3.2% with the increases mostly made up of general rises and other bonuses or performance-related and individual increases. [Read more at > VPOD-SSP (DE)->http://www.vpod.ch/aktuell

The VPOD/SSP public service trade union, with support from the SGB/USS trade union confederation, has attacked demands from the health insurance industry to cut hospital costs and by implication wage bills. The industry wants hospital costs across the country reduced to the lowest that currently apply in any hospital. The unions point out that with employment costs making up 70% of total costs this means an attack on pay and conditions. The unions have warned that such reductions, apart from being unfair to workers, would undermine service quality and lead to hospitals taking on less qualified

The SGB/USS union confederation along with its member organisations, including the VPOD/SSP public service union, has organised a national demonstration in Zurich on 15 November. The slogan for the demonstration is “stop the rip-off” and unions want to see tighter regulation of the finance sector but also increased investment in public services and increased real wages and social payments. The unions contrast the cost of pension reforms with the massive support given to Union Bank of Swizterland. [Read more at > VPOD (DE)->http://www.vpod.ch/aktuell/nachrichten/ansicht/article/schluss-mit-der