Unions demand: “Negotiate hard with Brussels!”

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Blick: Mr. Maillard, how many kilos do you weigh?
Pierre Yves Maillard: Definitely a few too many, why?

They are considered bulldozers.
I don’t bash anyone. I try to convince people with arguments.

Get on? EU brakemen Alain Berset and Simonetta Sommaruga are no longer on the Federal Council.
Elisabeth Baume-Schneider and Beat Jans also understand our concerns.

But the two come from a border canton. Jans is considered an EU turbo, Baume-Schneider is considered EU-friendly. A threat to your goals?
No.

And yet the FDFA has been planning for months without Mr. Berset in the Federal Council – and without his special message to you.
That would be a shame. The Federal Council deserves some recognition for what it has achieved in 2021.

Is that a hidden praise for Mr. Cassis?
He faced a lot of criticism because he broke off negotiations with Brussels. The new document presented by the Federal Council on Friday brings new risks, but also contains certain improvements. This shows that it is worth negotiating hard with the European Commission. And this is what we now expect from the Federal Council: negotiate hard with Brussels and get the best out of it for the people of Switzerland!

Your main concern is wage protection, right?
Yes, but our public services are also being questioned. When it comes to wages, Brussels demands that we adopt European expense regulations. This can make a difference of up to 3,000 francs for an EU citizen. The spending threatens wage dumping and market distortions. This must be prevented.

The EU wants the coming negotiations to proceed quickly. There will be European elections in June 2024.
I’m skeptical about that. We are in no hurry. If the Federal Council achieves results and Brussels shows a willingness to make compromises, we can move forward. But I would be very surprised if the many problems could be solved within a few months.

What responsibility do the trade unions take for Europe? You can’t block everything like the SVP.
We will not do that: we immediately insist on a deal with Brussels if it ensures better working conditions in Switzerland and if our public services are guaranteed. But unfortunately it doesn’t look like that. Moreover, our requirements are moderate. In Luxembourg, for example, there is a national minimum wage and an automatic wage increase in case of inflation.

What concessions could Brussels make to lure Swiss unions?
The European Commission should recognize our legitimate special features in the areas of wage protection and public services. And if it wants to put pressure on Switzerland, it should do so, for example, because our country does not respect the conventions on trade union freedom of the International Labor Organization at the United Nations (ILO). The employers’ organizations are not taking action on this point. Not even with minimal requirements such as the simplified general declaration of collective labor agreements.

One of the points of contention in the relationship between Bern and Brussels is the liberalization of rail transport. For what reasons are you generally against it?
We do not want German conditions. Germany had a good track. But with the attempt to liberalize the railway, it was destroyed. Since then, many trains have not been punctual. Switzerland has the best railway system – and we want to keep it.

Why are you against the liberalization of the electricity grid? Consumers can save a lot of money.
First, the price of electricity is going down. To stay competitive, electricity suppliers are forgoing investments – and the next time a bottleneck occurs, prices skyrocket. We trade unions are against such experiments!

More urgent for you than the EU file is the 13th AHV pension, which will be voted on on March 3.
It is a historic vote. Profits are skyrocketing, banks are being bailed out – but pensions and wages are no longer sufficient because everything is becoming more expensive: rents, health insurance premiums, food. Who should pay for that, especially at an older age? We need a 13th AHV pension and can afford it. The Federal Council plans a surplus of 3.6 billion francs for the AHV in 2026. Every session we hear about new tax breaks for the richest in this country. There is no money just for the people. That has to change.

Why were you against Melanie Mettler and Beat Rieder’s alternative proposal, a 13th AHV pension for the poorest 25 percent of the population?
There are many ideas, but one thing is clear: if our initiative is rejected, there will be no improvement for the AHV – none! That is why the citizens did not want a counter-proposal. The AHV is not a social assistance benefit, but is intended to secure the existence of everyone. But that is no longer the case – even for mid-sized companies.

The SVP in Geneva supports your initiative. The SVP in Valais has decided to release the votes. According to surveys, your proposal will receive 70 percent approval. You must be in reasonably good shape.
It will be a tough election campaign, especially because we don’t have as much money as the banking and insurance lobby. The deputy SVP party leader Céline Amaudruz must listen to her cantonal association in Geneva and support our initiative. We know that the 13th pension has a lot of support from the SVP base.

As a federal councilor, Federal Councilor Elisabeth Baume-Schneider must reject the 13th AHV pension, even though she is actually in favor of it.
She will respect the collegiality of the Federal Council, but everyone knows her personal opinion.

Alain Berset leaves behind countless construction sites at the Interior, especially the high health insurance premiums. Is Ms. Baume-Schneider the right woman for EDI?
We will give everything and win the vote on the 13th AHV pension and the premium waiver initiative. Elisabeth Baume-Schneider is given exciting tasks.

Source:Blick