The Swiss Trade Union Federation is gathering signatures to force a nationwide vote on using central bank profits to boost the country’s ailing pension system.
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Los sindicatos exigen al banco central suizo que rescate las pensiones
The initiative, which was launched on Friday, would need 100,000 supporters to trigger a future vote on the proposal.
At present, the Swiss National Bank (SNB) distributes up to CHF6 billion ($6.5 billion) between cantons and the federal government during profitable years.
Trade union leaders want this amount to be increased to between CHF8 billion and CHF10 billion, with the extra cash (CHF2-4 billion) being allocated to Swiss pensions.
Federation chief economist Daniel Lampart said the SNB has amassed more than CHF1 trillion in shares, bonds and gold and that CHF100 billion of this is just “sitting around in the central bank’s basement”.
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