SVP delegates speak out against 13th AHV pension
Published: Saturday, Jan 27th 2024, 14:31
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The SVP base is against a 13th AHV pension. On Saturday in Bürglen UR, delegates voted against the initiative launched by the trade unions by 301 votes to 34 with 13 abstentions.
The popular initiative "For a better life in old age" wants all pensioners to receive a supplement equivalent to one twelfth of their annual pension. It does not specify how the 13th monthly pension will be financed. The referendum will take place on March 3.
The conservative parties rejected the initiative, but it received surprising support from the SVP cantonal parties in French-speaking Switzerland and Ticino. The SVP in Geneva decided to vote Yes, while the No vote in Vaud was only narrow. The SVP in Ticino and Lower Valais voted to abstain.
The "yes" votes on Saturday in Bürglen came from delegates from French-speaking Switzerland and Ticino. Of the dozen or so speakers in the discussion, only one was in favor of the referendum - it was Valais National Councillor Jean-Luc Addor (VS). Pensioners have a right to be happy, he said. The 13th pension would help all pensioners living on the edge of poverty.
Federal Councillors enjoy the floor
The two SVP Federal Councillors also addressed the delegates during the discussion. Albert Rösti said that a no vote was in the interests of the middle classes and senior citizens. Guy Parmelin said that if the Confederation had to pay more into the AHV, savings would have to be made elsewhere.
Daniel Lampart, Chief Economist of the Swiss Federation of Trade Unions (SGB), was allowed to campaign for the initiative in front of the SVP delegates. The population's financial problems have worsened, for the first time also for the middle classes, he said. People therefore expected politicians to "do something for them for once".
Many workers and employees also realized that they would have less pension fund pension than they had been promised, said Lampart. The 13th pension is needed so that everyone who has worked all their lives can also make ends meet in old age. The money for the additional pension is available.
Extremely expensive
National Councillor Diana Gutjahr (TG) represented the No position. She said that the 13th pension would cost five billion francs a year and would therefore be extremely expensive at a time when the ageing population was placing a financial burden on the AHV. In order to finance it, the middle classes would be fleeced through higher wage deductions and value-added taxes.
Diego Barrati from the Young SVP also advocated a no vote. Even without a 13th pension, the AHV was already in a precarious position. "Don't be selfish", he called out to the delegates, "and think of the younger generation".
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