French cross-border workers in Switzerland fear ‘discriminatory’ unemployment reform

French cross-border commuters wait in front of the Moillesulaz border crossing near Geneva Keystone

In the French region surrounding Geneva, elected officials and cross-border workers are protesting against proposals to reduce unemployment benefits for cross-border workers in Switzerland.

They argue the measures are “discriminatory”, with some associations prepared to take legal action.

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“The cross-border worker is valued at times, but envied and vilified at others. They are a scapegoat,” says Thomas Fischer, head of the European Cross-Border Group, which has 25,000 members.

However, the salaries of cross-border workers bolster the economies of several French regions, he told AFP at the association’s headquarters in Annemasse, Haute-Savoie.

At the centre of the discussions is the negotiation on unemployment insurance between employers and unions, set to conclude on Thursday. The government is asking them to find an additional €400 million (CHF373 million) compared to last year’s agreement.

+More than 400,000 cross-border commuters now work in Switzerland

One option involves the compensation system for cross-border beneficiaries, which adds an extra cost of around €800 million per year for unemployment insurance, according to insurance company Unédic.

European rules stipulate that cross-border workers contribute in their country of employment but receive benefits calculated based on their salaries, which are often higher than in France, especially for those who have worked in Switzerland and Luxembourg.

One proposal is to apply a coefficient to account for the difference in the standard of living between the country of work and France. Labour and Employment Minister Astrid Panosyan-Bouvet has also indicated she wants to redefine the notion of a “reasonable job offer” for cross-border workers.

Is it better to live in Switzerland?

In an internal document from late October, Unédic noted that the principle of a coefficient “could be considered non-compliant with the current legal framework and would require prior modification”.

Cross-border associations are condemning the measures as “discriminatory”. “We are ready to go to court,” Pierre Fleury, a representative of the Amicale des Frontaliers, an association based in Morteau, Doubs, with 11,000 members, told AFP.

“It’s unfair. France is trying to absorb its inability to manage unemployment by targeting cross-border workers,” says one member, a thirty-year-old marketing professional in Geneva who wishes to remain anonymous.

She and her husband, also a cross-border worker, are consulting the association “to see if, in the end, it might be better to live in Switzerland,” she told AFP. It’s a move the couple had already been considering, but the discussions on unemployment benefits have “accelerated” their plans.

Cross-border workers are “worried,” and those who are unemployed now feel “a sense of shame.” “They feel like they are stealing something from France,” laments Ibrahima Diao, a lawyer for the Amicale des Frontaliers in Gaillard, near Geneva.

European regulations provide for financial compensation between states, with the country of employment reimbursing between three and five months of unemployment benefits to the country of residence. However, this amount is considered insufficient by many, given the growing number of cross-border workers residing in France and working in Switzerland.

Dialogue with the Swiss Confederation

At the end of September, just over half (57.4%) of the 403,000 cross-border workers employed in Switzerland were living in France, amounting to 231,456 people – a figure that has doubled since 2007. Cross-border associations say they have been sounding the alarm for years.

In 2019, the states reached an agreement for unemployed cross-border workers to be supported by the country where they worked.

“At the time of the vote in the European Parliament, several members vetoed it,” explains Guylaine Riondel-Besson, head of the cross-border division at the Federation of Romandy Businesses in Geneva.

European regulations stipulate that within the framework of a bilateral agreement, France can request higher compensation from Switzerland. “We should stop bashing the cross-border worker; it is up to the states to discuss among themselves,” she insists.

An appeal to negotiate with Bern has also been launched by associations, as well as by deputies and senators from Haute-Savoie, who have sent a letter to Panosyan-Bouvet.

“Today, the French state is in a difficult financial situation, but it is important not to stigmatise cross-border workers,” says Florent Benoit, mayor of Vulbens and president of the Community of Communes of the Genevois, which includes 17 municipalities in Haute-Savoie.

“It is not up to France to cushion the Swiss social model,” he adds, calling for a “courteous but firm dialogue” with Bern.

Translated from French by DeepL/sp

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