A single mother in Münchenstein in the canton of Basel-Landschaft has been asked by her municipality to repay CHF 224,866 francs of welfare she received, according to a recent report by the Swiss broadcaster SRF. Life became challenging for the 43-year-old woman after she gave birth to a premature child requiring intensive care. Then her […]
Archives for 2018
Switzerland’s highly contrasting divorce rates
Switzerland is a varied patchwork of languages and cultures. Divorce rates are no different varying by as much as 27.1% depending on the canton. Across Switzerland the rate was 41.5% in 2016, far higher than 32 years earlier in 1984 when it was 28.9% – a percentage increase of 44%. An average marriage in Switzerland […]
Jobless in Switzerland after 55 – most end up longterm unemployed
Age discrimination in the Swiss job market appears to be getting worse. Between 2010 and 2016, the number of over 55s on welfare increased by 50.5%, something that cannot be fully explained by an aging population. The population aged between 56 and 64 only increased by 11.6% over the same period. Across the total population […]
Swiss federal finances – surplus of billions in 2017
While many national governments, such as the US and UK, regularly spend more than they collect, Switzerland managed a CHF 2.8 billion surplus in 2017. In addition, CHF 2 billion of withholding tax is expected, which would push the surplus up to CHF 4.8 billion. Most of the CHF 71 billion collected came from VAT […]
Geneva – new initiative to curb cross-border workers
The Mouvement Citoyens Genevois (MCG) wants employers to show that they cannot find a local candidate before employing a foreign national living in a border country, in Geneva’s case mainly France. Supplementing the article in Switzerland’s federal constitution on mass immigration, the initiative dubbed “Frontaliers : stop!” will require employers to show that there are […]
Polar chill to sweep across Switzerland next week
An arctic weather system could bring Switzerland’s coldest winter snap since February 2012, says the weather service MeteoNews. France, Scandinavia, Russia and also the UK and Italy are likely to feel the chill too. Heating of air in the arctic stratosphere has upset the normal flow of weather. Winds in Europe typically blow off the […]
FILM: THE SHAPE OF WATER – the very essence of love
23 February 2018. THE SHAPE OF WATER **** This pre-Oscar season has been a rich one indeed – DARKEST HOUR, THREE BILLBOARDS…, THE POST (The Pentagon Papers), PHANTOM THREAD, LADYBIRD, DUNKIRK, and Woody’s WONDER WHEEL (unfortunately not in the awards lineup)… every one of them exceptional and Oscar-worthy. And then I saw THE SHAPE OF […]
How one Swiss town rewards long-time married couples
By Bill Harby Upon their 50th wedding anniversary, Pierrette and Lucien Erard received an unexpected surprise: a big bouquet of flowers from the government of the town of Neuchâtel. “It’s always nice to receive a gift, especially when it’s unexpected, and from the government of my hometown”, said Madame Erard. “I was also surprised by […]
Basel Fasnacht – Renu reports from the ground
Like me, many expats in Geneva are determined to go to the famous Basler Fasnacht. But year after year they ruminate and decide they’ll go next year. And it’s not only expats. A charming Swiss lady I met on the train this morning confessed that she had lived in Geneva close to 50 years but […]
Geneva to Zurich for half the price of a Swiss train
Switzerland’s transport authority (OFT) recently gave Domo Swiss Express SA, a Zurich-based bus company, a green light to run three routes across Switzerland. The first will run from Zurich to Lugano, via Basel and Luzern, the second from St. Gallen to Geneva airport, via Zurich and Bienne, and the third from Chur to Sion, via […]
