Swiss Review 6/2020

Swiss Review / November 2020 / No.6 8 New welfare initiative as an accompanying measure Older unemployed who fail to find a new job will now receive a bridging pension until retirement. The new welfare benefit is for people who have become jobless aged 60 or over and who have lost their entitlement to unemployment benefit, having failed to find alternative employment. It spans the period until a person is eligible to receive the normal state pension. This new welfare initiative will help around 3,400 people avoid the poverty trap. The federal government has earmarked some 150 million francs a year for this purpose. The Federal Council first floated the idea of a bridging pension last year as a domestic policy measure to promote freedom of movement. Many voters over the age of 50 voted for the SVP’s “Stop mass immigration” initiative in 2014 because they feared being squeezed out of the job market by an influx of foreign labour. The Federal Council saw the new welfare initiative as a way to allay these fears. Initially, the scheme was more gener- ous in scope and would have benefited around 4,600 people. Parliament subsequently cut the number of potential recipients and introduced a benefits cap. The SVP rejected the bridging measure in principle. Opponents of the new scheme said that it could have the unwanted effect of giving companies an excuse to lay off older employees. However, critics were unable to collect enough signatures for a referendum. (TP) Focus Federal Council hopes that shewill add fresh impetus to break the current im- passe. At the time of going to press, the negotiation parameters on the Swiss side had yet to be defined. Growing impatience in Brussels Brussels is becoming increasingly confused by Switzerland’s wavering. Following the outcome of the referen- dum, the EU had assumed there were nomore obstacles to signingwhat was, at least from the Brussels perspective, a fully negotiated framework agree- ment. On the day of the referendum, European Commission President Ur- sula vonder Leyen stressed that, while the EUwas prepared to work on “clar- ifications”, it also expected the Federal Council tomove “swiftly” towards rat- ifying the agreement. Nonetheless, it is possible that backroomdealings are still ongoing to help the Federal Coun- cil make the agreement acceptable to themajority. After a parliamentary vote, the final word will lie with the people. The current bilateral agreements remain in force until the new frame- work agreement is signed. However, the EU could refuse to extend these agreements – this, for example, would have serious consequences for the Swiss medical technology industry, which stands to lose direct access to the singlemarket. Swiss involvement in the EU research programme Hori- zon Europe could also be affected. However, Switzerland has an ace up its sleeve. At the end of 2019, parlia- ment blocked the additional 1.3-bil- lion-franc “cohesion” payment that had been earmarked to help structur- ally disadvantaged EUmember states. Evidently, a few relationship issues need to be ironed out before Berne and Brussels enter into their new partnership agreement. This article reflects the situation at the time of going to press in mid-October. The framework deal’s effect on wages and job security remains a contentious issue. Photo: Keystone