Union wants special coaching for older workers

Older unemployed workers in Switzerland need more support to find a job Keystone

A trade union umbrella group has reiterated calls for additional measures to help unemployed older workers in Switzerland find a job.

Presenting its demands on Wednesday, Travail Suisse said employees aged over 50 should benefit from special coaching offers and it urged regional employment centres to increase efforts to encourage companies to offer jobs for older workers.

The group also said more preventive measures were needed, including further education, to reduce joblessness.

Nearly 27% of unemployed workers over 50 need more than 12 months to find a job, according to Travail Suisse, which represents about 150,000 members.

The appeal was launched ahead of a third national conference next week of delegates from the federal and cantonal authorities, employers and trade unions to discuss the role of older workers in the labour market, notably to make up for a shortage of skilled labour in some sectors.

The leading Trade Union Federation, with about 380,000 members, has been calling for older workers to benefit from increased legal protection from dismissal at the workplace.

In a 2014 report, the Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) said Switzerland could do more to tackle age discrimination.