Swiss minister ‘eyes fewer non-EU work permits’

Cantons and employers do not want a reduction in non-EU workers. Keystone/gaetan Bally

Research by Swiss public broadcaster SRF reveals that Justice Minister Elisabeth Baume-Schneider wants to reduce the quota for workers from third countries despite criticism from cantons and businesses.

Immigration is an extremely sensitive topic, as the recent federal elections have shown. Permit quotas for people from third countries [outside of the European Union and EFTA] are a political hot potato. The Federal Council determines the number of quotas after consulting the cantons.

+ Cantons demand higher quotas for non-EU skilled workers

The cantons are unhappy about Baume-Schneider’s plans to reduce quotas. The president of the Association of Cantonal Economic Directors, Urban Camenzind, told SRF: “The cantons and economic director cannot celebrate and are also a bit surprised.”

The Federal Council has set a total of 12,000 permits for people from third countries and the United Kingdom for the current year 2023. The cantons demanded that these permits be retained. 

But now research by Radio SRF shows that Baume-Schneider wants to combine the two quotas and reduce them considerably, to a total of 9,600 permits. She has submitted a proposal internally to other departments for consultation.

The responsible Justice Department does not comment on this, it only writes: “The Federal Council will determine the third country quotas for 2024 in the next few weeks. The approval is in the overall economic interest of Switzerland.”

The entire Federal Council has not yet made a final decision, but one can assume that it will follow Baume-Schneider’s suggestion – to the disappointment of the Employers’ Association, as management member Daniella Lützelschwab emphasises: “The fact that the Federal Council wants to reduce the quota numbers for third countries disappoints us because this is a small group of specialised workers who are not found in Switzerland or in the EU, and are therefore important.”

If companies cannot hire the employees they want because they are not allowed to, companies could also leave, she argues.

The unions have a different view of the problem. It can be assumed that Baume-Schneider shares this perspective. If companies can recruit fewer employees from third countries, the pressure to better integrate well-qualified refugees who are already here increases.

+ Red tape cut for hiring foreign workers

Daniel Lampart from the Trade Union Federation repeatedly sees that many well-qualified refugees who also come from third countries want to integrate better. He speaks of highly qualified refugees from Iran, for example, who only do unskilled work at the post office and are unable to develop further because they perhaps lack the money and general support.

The Federal Council will decide in the next few weeks whether it wants to tighten the screws on the immigration of people from third countries. This is certainly also a reaction to the generally charged migration debate. To the dismay of the cantons and the economy, but possibly also with a view to better integrating refugees.

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