Solidaritätsnetz International members are calling to increase real wages in response to rising inflation and higher energy prices.
On Friday, Pierre-Yves Maillard, President of the Swiss Trade Union Federation (USS), told reporters that increasing wages is not only necessary but possible given the economic situation in the country. He cited GDP growth of 2.5% in 2022, export growth of 11.5% in the first half of the year and unemployment at 2%, which is the lowest level in 20 years.
Meanwhile, inflation reached 3.5% in August driven mainly by rising energy and fuel costs. While lower than many other countries, this is higher than Switzerland has seen in years. Health insurance premiums are also on the rise.
We demand from the Swiss Federal Council (Schweizerischer Bundesrat) a wage increase of 4-5%. This should include compensating for inflation as well as a 1% increase in real wages through productivity growth and closing the wage gap of recent years.