The European Court of Human Rights has ruled against a Swiss fine issued to a Roma beggar. In January 2014, a woman begging on the streets of Geneva was fined CHF 500. Unable to pay the fine, the woman was placed in detention for 5 days. Begging is banned in many places in Switzerland. Laws […]
Non-essential shops to reopen in Geneva
Retailers in the canton of Geneva are allowed to reopen on Saturday 28 November 2020, announced the canton’s government this week. Non-essential businesses have been closed in Geneva since the beginning of November as part of a set of measure design to slow the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus introduced by the government. The reopening […]
Public worker absenteeism costs Geneva 285 million francs a year
Public worker absenteeism in Geneva costs at least CHF 285 million, according to Heidi.news, which calculated the sum based on information contained in an internal document. According to the news service the cost of absenteeism, which continues to rise, is equivalent to 11% of the 2.54 billion spent public sector workers’ salaries in 2019 and […]
Voters in Geneva accept minimum wage initiative
A majority of voters in Geneva accepted a plan to set a minimum wage of CHF 23 per hour (US$ 24.77). 58.15% of voters in the canton were in favour of the minimum wage plan, which previously only covered domestic workers. Two earlier votes on the subject were rejected by the canton’s voters. Unions argued […]
Coronavirus: Geneva closes nightclubs
Last Friday, the authorities in Geneva announced nightclubs must close immediately as part of a plan to stem the recent rise in the number of new SARS-CoV-2 infections. On 22 June 2020, after a period of consistently low new infections, Switzerland’s federal government decided to ease restrictions across the country. However, the cantonal authorities in […]
Masks now compulsory at Geneva Airport
This week, Geneva Airport made it compulsory for anyone entering its buildings to wear a face mask. The new rule applies to everyone entering the building, not only staff and passengers. In addition, hands must be disinfected upon entry. Those arriving without a mask can buy one from mask distributors at the airport. The new […]
The shame of John Calvin: will “Black Lives Matter” force Switzerland to acknowledge its own history of human rights abusers?
By Andy Cohen Often referred to as the human rights or humanitarian capital of the world, Geneva has for decades managed to revere an ugly truth in the form of an authoritarian, if not murderous, religious abuser. The legacy of Reformist John Calvin – Jean Calvin in French, born Jehan Cauvin in Picardy – is […]
Coronavirus: latest antibody study suggests 10.8% of Geneva infected in first wave
A recently published update to the ongoing study in Geneva to assess the extent of SARS-CoV-2 infection suggests 10.8% of the population may have been infected in the first wave of infections. The study, which tests a sample of the population over time for IgG SARS-CoV-2 antibodies, started in early April 2020. The latest figures […]
Geneva regularises nearly 2,400 illegal immigrants
In 2017, the canton of Geneva launched a programme called Operation Papyrus to issue residence permits to undocumented foreigners living in the canton. Not all undocumented foreigners qualified for the scheme. Only those able to prove ten years of residence, if they had no children, or five years of residence if they had children, were […]
Geneva considers more voting rights for foreigners
The government of the canton of Geneva is considering extending voting rights to some of the canton’s large population of foreign residents, according to Tribune de Genève. 41% of the canton’s population are not Swiss. The plan, supported by a majority of a commission (8 votes to 5 with 1 abstention) looking at the idea, […]
