Swiss unions demand 2.5 percent wage rise from 2027

The Swiss Trade Union Federation is calling for general wage increases of 2.5 percent from 2027, citing weak wage growth over the past decade and an improving economy, SRF reported.

Federation president Pierre-Yves Maillard said higher wages were needed to protect purchasing power. He said Switzerland was facing a purchasing-power crisis, with rising prices and steadily increasing health insurance premiums leaving more families unable to save money.

Trade union economist and central secretary David Gallusser said real wages had lagged behind productivity for years. If the median wage had kept pace, it would now be almost 500 francs higher per month, he said.

Gallusser said 0.6 percent was needed to offset inflation and a further 0.3 percent to cushion the rise in health insurance premiums. He attributed 1 percent to increased employee productivity, with additional increases needed to make up part of the shortfall accumulated over the past decade. The federation also wants the lowest wages, currently below 4,500 francs, to rise.

Swiss Trade Union Federation vice-president and Unia president Vania Alleva said one in three monthly wages in Switzerland was below 5,000 francs. Among women, the figure was 40 percent. The federation is calling for anyone who has completed an apprenticeship to earn at least 5,000 francs a month.

In many sectors, real wages were at 2016 levels or lower, Alleva said. She said this particularly affected hospitality, healthcare, parts of industry, construction and retail.

Matthias Hartwich, president of the transport workers’ union SEV, said wage increases of between 2 and 3 percent were appropriate. The union does not have a central wage demand covering all transport companies, he said. Employees contributed significantly to efficiency gains at transport operators, making the demands a matter of catching up rather than greed, Hartwich said.

The Swiss Employers’ Association had already rejected the 2 percent wage increase demanded by the employee umbrella organisation Travailsuisse a month earlier, calling it excessive and based on familiar false claims. The employers’ association disputes the assertion that companies kept productivity gains for themselves.

The association cited the economic research institute at ETH Zurich, which forecasts a 1 percent nominal wage increase for 2027. That would be higher than the projected inflation rate of 0.6 percent, it said. Although health insurance premiums are expected to rise faster in percentage terms than wages, the wage increase in francs would be greater than the increase in premiums for an average household, the association said.