SGB wants delegates to decide on agreement with EU
Published: Friday, Nov 29th 2024, 14:20
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The Swiss Federation of Trade Unions wants to place the decision on the outcome of the negotiations between Switzerland and the European Union in the hands of its delegates. This was announced by the President of the Federation, Pierre-Yves Maillard, in Bern.
An extraordinary delegates' meeting will be convened as soon as the results of the negotiations are on the table, the SP member of the Vaud cantonal parliament said in a statement to the General Assembly of the Swiss Federation of Trade Unions (SGB) on Friday.
Autonomous wage protection and the protection of public services must be guaranteed, he emphasized in the communiqué.
The SGB President had already expressed skepticism about the talks between Bern and Brussels in mid-November. He did not see a close solution, he told SRF's "Samstagsrundschau". On the radio programme at the time, Maillard spoke of a "liberalization project". Liberalization was planned for the labour market, the electricity market and the railroads.
Against constant availability
Meanwhile, the main topic of the SGB General Assembly on Friday was not European policy, but labor law. In a resolution, the delegates called for measures against stress and overwork in the workplace and for a better work-life balance. The corresponding communiqué was entitled "More freedom instead of constant availability".
The SGB accused employers of wanting to dismantle the existing protection against overwork by working more Sundays, longer working hours and legalizing bogus self-employment.
Specifically, the unions are instead demanding, among other things, that employers must draw up work schedules at least four weeks in advance. Other demands include bonuses of at least 50 percent for night and weekend work, at least two weekends off per month for everyone and eight weeks' vacation for apprentices.
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