40% of workers currently aged between 50 and 64 would like to continue working beyond retirement age, according to a survey conducted by Deloitte. Switzerland’s growing demographic imbalance is not only putting pressure on Switzerland’s social security system but also reducing its pool of labour. According to UBS, by 2030, the Swiss labour market will […]
Parts of Switzerland becoming too hot for middle eastern tourists
While the latest statistics show a rise in the number of tourists visiting Switzerland over the summer, tourist numbers from some countries fell significantly. Overall, the number of visitors to Switzerland in June, July and August rose by 3.9% compared to 2018. However, the numbers from Saudi Arabia (-8.7%) and the UAE (-13.4%) were down […]
Drug spending continues to explode in Switzerland
Last week, the government announced that it had shaved CHF 100 million off the cost of drug purchases from 1 January 2020. This week numbers obtained by RTS from Curafutura, a health insurance association, show drug spending rose CHF 420 million from CHF 6.9 billion to CHF 7 billion between October 2018 and September 2019 […]
More than 100 members of Extinction Rebellion convicted in Switzerland
In September 2019, groups of people belonging to the environmental protest group Extinction Rebellion blocked two road bridges in Lausanne. Local police cleared the bridges by removing, in some cases carrying, protesters away. On 7 November 2019, 117 of the people involved in the bridge protests were convicted and fined for breaking Switzerland’s penal code, […]
Geneva to ban Uber if it doesn’t change its operating model
After a legal analyis the government of the canton of Geneva has decided that drivers of the ride hailing service are employees rather than independent contractors, effectively banning Uber from operating under its current model. In an interview with RTS, Mauro Poggia, a lawyer and Geneva state councillor, said that Uber is a transport company […]
Negative rates might go lower, says Swiss National Bank chairman
Thomas Jordan, chairman of the Swiss National Bank (SNB), told the NZZ am Sonntag newspaper recently that central bank interest rates might need to go further into negative territory. Responding to growing criticism of negative central bank interest rates, Jordan said negative interest rates could continue and a further reduction is possible. Could Swiss banks […]
Swiss commission supports new laws to protect whistleblowers
A commission of the Council of States, Switzerland’s upper house, is in favour of new rules to protect whistleblowers. The proposed rules, which would help to protect those who expose secretive information or activity that is deemed illegal or unethical, were supported by 6 commission votes to 2 with 4 abstentions. The proposal, which would […]
Minimum Swiss internet speed to triple in 2020
The Federal Council, Switzerland’s executive, has confirmed a decision made by parliament to raise the minimum speed of broadband internet connections in Switzerland. From 1 January 2020, the minimum download speed specified in Switzerland’s universal service agreement with Swisscom will rise from 3 to 10 megabits per second (Mbits/s) and the minimum upload speed will […]
Swiss central bank makes 388 million from negative interest rates
The Swiss National Bank (SNB), Switzerland’s central bank, has earned CHF 388 million from negative interest rates since introducing them in 2014 to tame the rising strength of the Swiss Franc, according to the newspaper SonntagsBlick. On 15 January 2015, the SNB announced that it was abandoning its policy of maintaining an exchange rate cap […]
Climate change could cause a billion francs of infrastructure damage a year in Switzerland
Climate change could soon cost Switzerland up to a billion francs a year in damage to infrastructure, according to an estimate by Switzerland’s Federal Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications (DETEC). Between now and 2050, higher temperatures and irregular rainfall could reduce the amount of electricity produced by Switzerland’s hydroelectric infrastructure by several […]
