Geneva plans to pay NGO wages after US foreign aid freeze

International Geneva is home to many global NGOs. Keystone / Martial Trezzini

The Swiss city of Geneva is planning to pay CHF10 million of NGO worker wages following the United States decision to freeze humanitarian aid for 90 days.

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Geneva is the world capital of human rights, international law and humanitarian aid. The United Nations has its European headquarters there. Organisations such as the ICRC and Doctors Without Borders send humanitarian aid workers all over the world from Geneva.

+ Foreign aid cuts: where does Switzerland stand?

But instead of being able to help elsewhere, International Geneva now needs help itself. US president Donald Trump’s decision to stop humanitarian aid affects more than 450 NGOs based in Geneva.

Around 250 of these NGOs employ staff, some of whom are paid with US money. According to Geneva’s Economic Affairs Director Delphine Bachmann, a few NGOs have already laid off their employees.

Bachmann told Swiss public broadcaster RTS that there would be mass layoffs involving several dozen people. Because NGOs are subsidised, they cannot apply for short-time work to save on wage costs and find new sources of income. That is why the Geneva government agreed on an emergency plan this week.

Emergency plan

It wants to make a CHF10 million available over 90 days to provide financial support to NGOs in need. The aim is to save jobs, said Geneva’s finance director Natalie Fontanet. “They are all legally in Switzerland, work in Geneva and pay into the social security system like everyone else.”

For the government’s CHF10 million emergency plan to come into force, the Genevan parliament must approve it at its next session.

Geneva will not receive any help from Bern. Finance Minister Karin Keller-Sutter has already made that clear: “It is not the federal government’s role to plug the holes that the US is creating or could create.”

Translated from German with DeepL/mga

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