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Switzerland saved, climate forgotten?
Apparently, taxpayers, as in 2001, should save the Swiss. The Federal Council has announced that the Lufthansa subsidiary and Edelweiss will receive a financial injection of CHF 1,275 million – as collateral for bank loans, the repayment of which depends on future earnings. More than a third of exports leave the country by plane, said SP Federal President Simonetta Sommaruga. In addition, many jobs depend on aviation.
CH Media: “Participation is not the goal, says the Federal Council, as Swiss’s success depends on its integration into the Lufthansa network. However, the loans are guaranteed by Swiss and Edelweiss shares. If the airlines do not pay the debt, participation would be a problem. And not only that. A spokeswoman for the finance department says the shares are insured with Swiss possessions: “If the federal government took over the shares, it would automatically take over the planes.”
The Greens are calling for the bailout package to be tied to weather regulations and are considering a referendum. In a previous statement by the party, the party noted that air traffic was responsible for 19 percent of climate change in Switzerland. SP Switzerland also published under the title “Aviation aid only under certain conditions: secure jobs, create financial transparency, protect the climate!” A press release.
It is unclear if further weather measures are required. The Federal Council is sticking to climate targets, said Ms. Sommaruga only. On March 17, Tamedia reported: “SVP economic politician Thomas Matter can only shake his head. “Switzerland has been one of the most profitable subsidiaries of German Lufthansa for years,” says Matter. “Sending the profits to Germany, but asking for state aid in the event of losses, is not possible.”
Telebasel asks: is that possible?
Record unemployment and foreign workers?
1.85 million employees have already been registered in Switzerland for short-term jobs. That is more than a third of all employees in Switzerland. The Federal Council forecast unemployment of up to seven percent. Handelszeitung: “There are currently 153,000 registered unemployed and 228,000 job seekers in Switzerland. For comparison: Before the Federal Council put the emergency brake on the corona virus in mid-March, 118,000 people were registered as unemployed. “We are still seeing an average increase of around 1,200 to 1,500 unemployed per day,” said Zürcher. The Secretary of State for Economic Affairs, Seco, expects around 155,000 unemployed by the end of April, which would correspond to a rate of 3.4 percent. “The growth is considerable,” said Zürcher, a labor market expert: “I think that none of my predecessors has experienced this.”
However, the Federal Council wants to continue processing “third-country job applications that were submitted prior to the entry into force of entry restrictions for third-country nationals (March 19, 2020).” The SVP strongly criticizes this: “The decision to quickly process job applications from the EU and EFTA countries before March is also difficult to understand. In the current economic crisis, in which more than one in three Swiss employees works in the short term and experts forecast an unemployment rate of up to 7 percent, the unemployed Swiss must be hired first and, of course, not even They have to bring more cheap EU workers to the country. “
Telebasel asks: Are we leaving domestic workers defenseless in the face of competition in the crisis?
Does the crown crisis reduce the bridge pension?
According to Finance Minister Ueli Maurer, Switzerland will be in debt for decades to come due to the crown crisis. A week ago he spoke of a deficit of 80 billion. At the NZZ on Wednesday, he already announced a savings program and even talked about job cuts. His party is calling for a “termination of exercise” regarding the planned bridge pension for older job seekers. In the “current economic crisis”, this new social work is “irresponsible”.
Maurer said: “In my opinion, bridge benefits tend to be dangerous right now in the coming period. If older employees receive an emergency pension, it can lead to layoffs of older workers at times of high unemployment. ” Retirement planning is still under negotiation. Assessment: With a view to the crisis, ordinary people will put pressure on social welfare organizations and also the revision of the provision of old age. To back this up, pension advocates could make concessions, further erode the pension, or even abandon it entirely.
Telebasel asks: Is the crown crisis paying the bridge pension? Does it affect other organs of the welfare state?
