PostBus, the nation’s postal bus service, receives government aid based on its financial performance. With around 2,200 bright yellow buses operating on around 900 routes, it forms an important part of Switzerland’s transport network and employs around 4,000 people. However, not long after the private PostBus company was created in 2006, it started manipulating its […]
Voters in Swiss canton of Valais reject Winter Olympics
Today, the government of Valais asked its voters if they wanted to spend CHF 100 million on the 2026 Winter Olympics. This money would have been the canton’s contribution to the overall funding of the games should its capital city Sion win its bid for the Games. CHF 60 million was earmarked for infrastructure and […]
Majority in Valais opposed to Winter Olympics, according to poll
A poll commissioned by Swiss broadcaster RTS, suggests voters in the canton of Valais, the proposed site of Switzerland’s Winter Olympic bid, will reject the plan in the 10 June 2018 referendum. in the poll, 58% were against or fairly against the 2026 bid, estimated to cost the canton CHF 100 million. A minority of […]
Fribourg – moves to axe government pensions for life
Switzerland’s government is working hard to find ways to fix a looming state pension shortfall. Two politicians in the canton of Fribourg have decided to seek savings by attempting to cut lifetime government pensions granted after short stints in the job, according to the newspaper 20 Minutes. In some Swiss cantons, government leaders can work […]
Disability welfare – fraud investigations expected to save 170 million
By January 2018, the number receiving disability welfare in Switzerland had dropped to 217,200, 40,300 fewer than in 2006 when the number reached a record 257,500. Switzerland’s Federal Social Insurance Office (FSIO) attributes the reduction to an occupational rehabilitation programme started in 2008, and disability welfare fraud investigations. In 2017, 40,800 disability beneficiaries were eligible for the […]
Internships – Switzerland’s Young Socialists caught preaching one thing and practicing another
In collaboration with the Swiss union Unia, Switzerland’s Young Socialists have launched a protest against the exploitation of interns. To get on the career ladder, many young people feel compelled to take internships offering little or no pay. The Young Socialists are demanding interns be better paid. Recent data from the Federal Statistical Office shows […]
42 suspected extremists in Swiss army
A recent reported published by Switzerland’s Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport (DDPS), reveals that 42 extremism investigations were requested in 2017. In 2016, there were 50. Switzerland has a system of compulsory military service for all Swiss men who pass a physical and psychological aptitude test. Those who miss the mark on […]
Facebook refused 70% of Swiss government requests for information
From 2013 to mid 2017, Switzerland’s authorities sent 361 data requests to Facebook, most related to suspected terrorist activity. The social network refused to provide information for 253 (70%) of these requests, according to the newspaper SonntagsZeitung. Part of the problem is legal differences between the US and Switzerland. Lulzana Musliu, a spokesperson for the […]
Poverty in Switzerland – most don’t stay poor for long
In 2016, 7.5% of Switzerland’s population survived on a income below the poverty line, defined as CHF 3,981 a month for a couple with two young children, CHF 3,039 for a couple without children and CHF 2,247 for a single person. Among the 615,000 people encountering poverty in Switzerland in 2016, 140,000 were working. Over […]
Raising Switzerland’s retirement age – like death and taxes
Last week, State Councillor Peter Hegglin (PDC/CVP) withdrew his motion demanding Switzerland’s retirement age automatically rise with life expectancy. He argues that Switzerland urgently needs to find a way to ensure the financial health of its pension system and raising the retirement age is the main way to do this. Across most of the OECD […]
