The associations declare war on the new SVP initiative: “Less immigration means less quality of life”

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The saying is a declaration of war on immigration: “There are too many and the wrong foreigners are coming.” SVP politicians repeat it at every opportunity. Because from next Saturday it’s serious. Then the Swiss People’s Party launches its sustainability initiative.

The initiative calls for limiting population growth. In 2050 there must be a limit of ten million. If the permanent resident population continues to grow, the federal government would be forced to act. He should end all international agreements that contribute to population growth – including the free movement of people with the EU.

Alarm at the business associations

This is bad news for business associations. Valentin Vogt (62), president of the employers’ association, summarizes it briefly: “Less immigration means less quality of life.” At a media conference, he tried to take the wind out of the SVP initiative – referring to the labor shortage.

One million baby boomers will retire in the next ten years. By 2030, half a million workers will be missing in Switzerland. This is according to a study by Deloitte. Vogt paints a gloomy picture of the future: “Restaurants are switching to self-service. The train timetable is being thinned out. You’ve been waiting months for a handyman to fix the toilet flush in your home.”

Foreigners have to relieve themselves

It is therefore clear to him: Switzerland cannot cancel the agreement on the free movement of persons with the EU – on the contrary. It needs to be further developed. The umbrella organization Economiesuisse demands the same. The president, Christoph Mäder, says: “The local workforce is simply not enough to ensure that the high added value can be achieved with domestic workers alone.” The free movement of persons in particular clearly helps. 80 percent of immigrants immediately integrated into the labor market.

As a result, the business associations are fighting against the SVP initiative. At the same time, however, they emphasize that immigration alone is not enough to meet the challenges in the labor market. The associations therefore call for further measures. Blick has summarized the central requirements.

The employers’ associations describe it as the “most effective solution”, although it is politically very controversial: working longer. If the retirement age were to rise, the labor force would increase. At the same time, the burden of the AHV is reduced. In addition, false incentives that make working beyond retirement age unattractive should be reduced.

The employers’ organization proposes to promote the compatibility of family and career. For example, there must be sufficient affordable third-party childcare places. In concrete terms, this means: more daycare centers and daycare centers. According to the association, refugees should be better admitted to the labor market for further reception. And to increase total working time, barriers to work must be removed. It is currently possible that higher parental employment may reduce household income. This is due to progressive taxes and expensive childcare.

The state has hired many employees in recent years. The trade associations are critical of this. Because: this would exacerbate the labor shortage. Therefore, job growth in the state needs to be curbed. Politicians should not always entrust more and more tasks to the state. In addition, the state must draw up an exemption plan.

For the trade associations, the calculation is simple: the more productivity rises, the more wages, payroll taxes and tax payments rise. All this would slow down the negative effects of demographic developments. Switzerland must therefore do everything it can to maintain and improve good framework conditions for companies. This is the only way to be at the forefront of innovation – and ultimately make the “pain of demographic change” bearable.

Source:Blick