Swiss unions call for CHF5,000 monthly salary for qualified apprentices

A trainee electronics technician assembles an educational robot in a workshop at the Ecole Technique - Ecole des Metiers de Lausanne (ETML) on February 7, 2022. Keystone / Laurent Gillieron

All workers who have completed an apprenticeship should earn at least CHF5,000 ($5,500) per month, the Swiss Trade Union Federation said on Friday. Union delegates adopted a demand to this effect during an assembly meeting.

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Switzerland has a competent workforce thanks to professional training, the federation says. But the promise of earning a good wage after securing an apprenticeship is no longer guaranteed in many cases. One in three people who have completed an apprenticeship and work full time earn a monthly salary of less than CHF5,000, it says.

Wages are particularly low in professions where there are more women workers. And many workers with an apprenticeship qualification can only expect small salary increases during their career, even after years of experience. Just before retirement, a quarter of professionals who have completed an apprenticeship still earn less than CHF5,000 a month.

+ Salary gap between men and women narrows in Switzerland

For wage developments to be more balanced and the wage gap to narrow, general wage increases and the abandonment of unfair wage bonus systems are necessary, the trade union federation says.

Support culture

In another resolution, union delegates urged parliament to renounce the planned cuts in the promotion of culture. The unions want the salaries of workers in the cultural sector to be supported by a national cultural policy and for their social protection to be improved.

+ Real wages on the rise in several sectors in Switzerland in 2024

Compliance with the salaries defined by a collective work agreement (CCT) and the recommendations in terms of salaries and fees must be guaranteed as part of the encouragement of culture, the federation says. In Switzerland, few artists earn the median national salary. Half of professional artists working on a temporary basis earn CHF25,000 a year, the federation says.

Adapted from French by DeepL/sb

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