Proposed law provides no protection for whistleblowers The proposed whistleblowing law adopted by the Swiss Conseil des Etats, the upper house of parliament, will effectively silence employees who are best placed to report wrongdoing and threats to the public interest. The law, which focuses on whistleblowing procedures rather than on the public interest value in […]
Considerate driving in Switzerland – a contradiction in terms?
Last week the Swiss parliament voted on a proposal to allow cars to overtake not just on the left, but also the right. Proponents claimed that such a radical measure would speed up the flow of traffic on the nation’s busy motorways. Anyone who has driven between Geneva and Vevey will recall, however, that the […]
No question, it’s a great place to die.
If you live in Switzerland and plan to retire and die here be thankful. The country has just been ranked the third best place in the world to be old in by the Global Age Watch Index 2014 which measures how well 96 countries are supporting their older populations. Norway leads the ranking followed by […]
Switzerland as a global sustainability hub
Five hundred people from more than 40 countries met in Lausanne at the annual Business-for-Society Forum to discuss positioning Switzerland as a global sustainability hub. This is not the first time such an idea has been promoted. Variations on this theme have been mooted previously by the government, think tanks and universities alike. What makes […]
Montreux appoints new Municipal Secretary
Montreux has appointed M. Olivier Rapin (45) as its new Secrétaire municipal (town clerk). A qualified lawyer with a post-graduate diploma in European Community Law, he takes over at the start of February from Mme Corinne Martin who was recently appointed Head of local housing services. Olivier Rapin is no stranger to local and regional […]
Health insurance, restaurant taxes and crossing Lake Geneva
The concept of a referendum appears to be viewed increasingly by Europeans as a quick way to impose change on politicians (first Scotland, then Catalonia). The question, however, is whether the referendum really constitutes an effective form of democracy. Is decision-making not supposed to be the role of elected parliamentarians? And if a referendum affecting […]
Swiss population rise: Mainly foreigners
BERN The population of Switzerland rose by 1.3% in 2013, the overwhelming majority of them immigrants, the Federal Office of Statistics announced this week. With 100,600 new residents, the current population now stands at 8.1 million. An estimated 89,500 of the new influx were immigrants, primarily Germans, Portuguese, Italians, French, Spanish and other European Union […]
Social assistance higher in Suisse romande
BERN The number of people on welfare in Swiss cities is generally higher in Suisse romande than in German-speaking cities, according to a study by Bern University and the Cities Initiative for Social Policy. Lausanne and Bienne/Biel have the greatest percentage of people on welfare among 13 cities surveyed, with increases in five other cities, […]
Your future: “80 is the new 60”
UBS this week released a survey it carried out on age and pensions. Normally pretty dry stuff – summaries of massive data sets – these findings offer interesting insights into Swiss attitudes and give ample food for thought. We know, for example, that the Swiss are living longer; however the survey also tells us that […]
Swiss recycling: not at the top – European rankings
Recently released EU figures show that Switzerland is the fourth best re-cycler in Europe after Germany (64%), Austria (59%) and Belgium (57%). Swiss municipalities recycle 50% of all waste collected. Europe’s three other large economies, the UK, France and Italy recycle 46%, 39% and 38% respectively. Malta, at the bottom of the table, recycles a […]
