20 Minutes. National Councillor Lukas Reimann of the Swiss People’s Party (UDC/SG) would like to see Swiss politicians, public servants and Swiss Rail staff stripped of their free annual first class Swiss Rail passes. He thinks they should be offered second class passes instead. From 11 December an annual first class pass on Swiss Rail […]
Swiss motorway vignette could soon be a thing of the past
Le Matin. Since 1985, a sticker or vignette has been required to drive on main and secondary routes in Switzerland. This could be about to change. Currently, drivers entering Switzerland from outside must buy a vignette before using primary and secondary Swiss roads. There is no short stay ticket. Drivers must buy an annual vignette. […]
Geneva’s iconic Jet d’eau gets a webcam
If you can’t make it out to see Geneva’s world famous 140m-high squirt of water in person, it can now be viewed around the clock, 365 days a year, via a new recently installed webcam. According to sightsmap.com, the Jet d’eau is Geneva’s second most photographed sight after the Place des Nations, home to the […]
Swiss stock market awaits result of Italian referendum
2 December 2016 – Swiss and global market roundup. Brought to you by Investec Switzerland. Investors appear to be staying on the sidelines this week ahead of the weekend’s Italian referendum. Swiss stocks are set to finish the week lower, underperforming global equities as food giant Nestle and pharmaceutical heavyweights Roche and Novartis drag the index […]
Swiss states council backs plan to force employers to interview unemployed locals before hiring foreigners
Before employing foreigners employers must first interview unemployed locals and justify why they did not employ them. This is the essence of a proposal to tighten immigration, which was approved yesterday by Switzerland’s upper house, known as the Council of States. The plan would affect employers taking on staff in occupations or professions with above […]
Sunrise beats Swisscom on mobile network coverage
After seven years on top, Swisscom has been beaten by Sunrise. The German telecommunications expert and magazine publisher, connect.de and its partner P3, travelled roughly 7,000 km by car around Switzerland testing Swiss mobile networks. Tests were also made while walking and on trains. The results were published on Tuesday. Out of a possible 1,000 […]
Swiss fact: Swiss primary school teachers are world’s highest paid
A recent report by Lausanne-based business school IMD, ranks Swiss primary school teachers as the highest paid in a ranking of 60 countries. On average a Swiss state primary school teacher, after teaching for around 10 years, earns US$ 100,0001 p.a. In the US they are paid US$ 67,0001, and in the UK they get […]
What Brexit did to the iconic Swiss chocolate Toblerone
After Brexit hit the value of Britain’s currency some foreign manufacturers decided to respond. The supermarket Tesco ended up in a dispute with Unilever over the price of one of its products, the yeasty spread Marmite. Then something mysterious happened the Toblerone chocolate bars sold in the UK. British politician John Prescott Tweeted: “Brexit just got real.” […]
Plan to reverse Vaud begging ban contrasts with widespread bans at commune level
24 Heures. On 27 September 2016, the canton of Vaud decided to ban begging after the Swiss People’s Party (UDC/SVP) launched an initiative to make it illegal. Vaud’s state government voted for the move with 60 votes for, 56 against, and 5 abstentions. In response to the ban the Socialist Party and others started collecting signatures […]
Swiss commune that paid to avoid taking refugees does u-turn
20 Minutes. Oberwil-Lieli, a commune in the canton of Aargau, that decided in June 2016 to pay CHF 290,000 to avoid taking refugees, has now decided to offer accommodation to a christian family of five from Syria, that has been given provisional entry. The accommodation will be offered from 1 January 2017. The town’s council has […]
