“Like a bad joke”: the federal government and the cities are spoiling their employees

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A 40-hour working week, retirement at age 63 and soon eight weeks of paternity leave: the working conditions for administrative staff are the most advantageous in the city of Bern. Only federal wages are higher. This is evident from an evaluation of the “Sonntagszeitung”. She examined 33 cantonal and municipal administrations, as well as the federal government.

The conclusion is therefore quickly drawn: in addition to Bern, the cities of Zurich, Basel, Geneva and Lausanne are also particularly accommodating. And, of course, the federal government. In addition to the best salary, federal civil servants enjoy a lot of extras.

There is a separation between city and country

The situation is different in many cantonal administrations. Especially in the countryside there are significantly fewer benefits and especially lower wages. At CHF 33,294, the minimum wage is the lowest in the canton of St. Gallen. In the big cities the minimum wage was more than 50,000 francs, in the federal government around 65,000 francs.

Comparable to the Papizeit: in all the cities studied, fathers usually get four, but at least three weeks of paternity leave after the birth of their child. In most other administrations, fathers are only entitled to the legal minimum of two weeks.

The cities are also generous when it comes to vacations or automatic cost-of-living adjustments. Civil servants in Bern or Zurich over the age of 60 would have seven weeks of vacation. However, most cantonal governments allow older workers to take a maximum of six weeks of vacation. The automatic adjustment of the cost of living is only known in the cities of Bern, Basel, Geneva and Lausanne and – a major exception – in the canton of Neuchâtel.

“That sounds like a bad joke”

This provokes criticism: “The administrations waste enormous amounts of taxpayers’ money. They compete with private individuals who have to assert themselves on the market’, says SVP National Councilor Alfred Heer (61). The chairman of the Association of Taxpayers would therefore prefer to have the administrations cut back.

Heer is not happy with the extras awarded to staff in the municipality of Bern: “Bern collects a billion from the financial equalization and sends people into retirement earlier. That strikes me as a bad joke.”

“The state distorts competition”

Berns financial director Michael Aebersold (61) sees it very differently. “The problem is that we cannot keep up with the wages of the federal government, Swisscom or other competitors,” said the SP politician. Compared to other administrations, the city of Bern is actually only in the upper midfield when it comes to minimum and maximum wages.

This has consequences: Aebersold emphasizes that it is difficult to recruit specialists for cybersecurity, for example. Engineers who manage projects are also hard to find. “That’s why we have to weigh other arguments besides the salary.” Work-life balance is becoming increasingly important, especially for younger workers.

“It can be said with certainty that working conditions in the administrations are generally good,” says Christoph Schattegger, professor of economics at the University of Lucerne. He criticizes the government’s approach to the labor market. “The state distorts competition by systematically extorting workers with higher wages.” The federal government and the big cities also made life difficult for many cantonal authorities.

The Federal Council is also fighting for the official sweets

The privileges of federal employees have long been a thorn in the side of the SVP. She wants to put an end to these ‘paradisiacal conditions’ and submitted several proposals last fall. The party not only wants to limit holidays to a maximum of five weeks, but also, for example, to limit federal pension discounts for the pension fund to a maximum of five percent above the statutory minimum.

But the Bundesrat wants nothing to do with it. His reasoning: he wants to prevent employees from migrating en masse to the private sector. The employment conditions are arranged in such a way that this goal can be achieved. (dba)

Source:Blick