This is what Councillor of States Heidi Z'graggen at a conference on the topic of "Generational solidarity - generational Generational Conflict" in November 2019, which I was able to attend.
Did you know that today there are four age groups? There are children and young people, then the adults. Then - from age 65 to 79 - there are the "young pensioners"! And only from the age of 80 are you so-called "very old".
A study by Swisslife recognized that around 400 billion francs worth of unpaid work is carried out each year. is performed. 8 billion alone is provided by grandparents who take on take over. It is not for nothing that grandparents are said to be the largest crèche in Switzerland.
Prof. em. Dr. François Höpflinger, researcher on ageing, explained in a humorous way how intergenerational relationships have changed. have changed. The extended family used to be a matter of course. Under For example, three generations lived under one roof. Solidarity was mutual. Fortunately, the latter is still the case today, but we live a family relationship family relationship at a distance. According to Prof. Höpflinger, this results in so-called Beanstalk familiesso no family association on the same level as when you live together. Grandparents or parents no longer live under the same roof as the young families. Each couple is on its own.
The input presentations also focused also focused on the topic of work. Heidi Z'graggen explained that when it comes to jobs jobs, the young would feel just as discriminated against as the old. old people. They are not taken seriously, labeled as too young and too inexperienced. too young and too inexperienced. In contrast, the economy has no program to promote to promote work in old age. The introduction of the bridging pension from the age of 58 is the wrong signal. Anyone who wants to work longer should be able to do so. Arguably the highest employment rate is currently for people aged between 55 and 64. After that, however, the number of older employees drops. Ms. Z'graggen is clearly of the opinion that the retirement age is too rigidly fixed. It must be handled flexibly. Better incentives should be created for the economy incentives should be created for the economy to offer shortage of skilled workers to enable older employees to continue working.
At a conference like this, of course not forget the young people. Ms. Angelika Ruider told us about the "Swiss Association for the Promotion of Militia Commitment". On the homepage of the association's homepage: Our association ServiceCitoyen.ch was founded in 2013 by committed young young citizens. Our goal is to revitalize the Swiss revitalize the militia system! True to the federal motto "One for all, all for one all, all for one", we are creating a movement for civic service. This emphasizes the bond with Switzerland, improves social cohesion cohesion in the country and strengthens active solidarity in society and for the in favor of the environment.
Ms. Ruider explained that, from the perspective of young people, a shift in the axes has taken place. has taken place. Both financially and in terms of personnel, the past can no longer be time can no longer be compared with today. Family, career and leisure, these three strong points in the lives of younger people dominate their days. Women and men are challenged with (part-time) work and family care. This there is not much left for leisure time, let alone for voluntary commitment or active solidarity. Ms. Ruider says: We are a cooperative of citizens and the aim of the association must be to ensure equality. People should be activated, to make their contribution to society. In 2020, the association is launching a popular initiative under the name "One for all, all for one". Point 1 (of 5) of the initiative says: Every Swiss citizen every Swiss citizen performs militia service as part of their normal civic duties for the benefit of society and the environment. I can already see some people others throwing up their hands. Compulsory for everyone? But why not? We know we know today that the so-called call-to-action "coercion" can become voluntary.
Believe me: In the workshops the workshops were hotly, very hotly debated!
The seniors@work platform is certainly a great offer for some senior citizens. However, a closer look soon reveals that both the participating seniors senior citizens participating in the platform as well as the job offers that work after retirement is only an option for a limited number of retirees. pensioners is an option. These tend to be more people with academic backgrounds and/or "office jobs". Bricklayers, gardeners, salespeople are in short supply. In addition, a distinction needs to be made between gainful employment and voluntary work.
These were associations of employees that founded the trade unions. This it is clear that the trade unions are committed to working people. Nevertheless employees who continue to work beyond the normal AHV retirement age are not age are not the focus of the trade unions. This is because our attention attention must first be paid to those employees who are currently unable to work until cannot or are not allowed to work until normal retirement age. Reaching reaching the normal retirement age is a challenge for many employees, especially, but not but not only, in physically demanding professions.
A study of unemployment insurance has shown that older employees often have great difficulty have great difficulty finding a new job, even though they are well trained and good qualifications. Even if they lower their salary expectations lower their salary expectations.
The The poorer 2nd pillar benefits are also the reason why the employment rate of that the employment rate of 55 to 64-year-olds has risen sharply.
In this context The argument that older employees are too expensive cannot be accepted: According to a survey by the statistical office in Zurich, wage development for women up to around the age of 50 and for men up to the age of 55 age - after that it becomes negative - a similar picture is shown by detailed Detailed evaluations of the wage calculator (www.lohnrechner.ch).
Many Despite these developments on the labor market, many employees would like to work at least work until they reach their normal retirement age, or would have to do so in order to a reasonably decent pension. However, the number of unemployed people over the age of 55 is rising steadily. For this reason, the the following points:
- Long-serving employees over the age of 50 should be particularly protected protection against dismissal, as is already the case in some collective is already regulated. This protection against dismissal also gives employers an incentive, to take better care of their staff (training and further education, health protection). Contrary to what is often claimed, this additional protection does not act as an obstacle to for re-entering the labor market. This is because it is linked to the length of length of service and does not act as a deterrent to new employment. a deterrent to new employment.
- Older unemployed people must have a better chance of finding a job again. find a job again. The job registration requirement adopted by the National Council and the Council of States must now be must now be implemented consistently so that older jobseekers who are currently jobseekers who are currently disadvantaged.
- Employees (and the unemployed) should have the right to a career assessment career assessment or career advice (e.g. from the age of 45). In They should be able to count on more support with regard to training and further education, e.g. through additional offers and information measures in the sectors with collective labor agreements. The Confederation and cantons must facilitate access to VET certificates.
Parallel to the preventive measures mentioned above, it is absolutely essential that the existing gaps in social security gaps in social security at pre-retirement age are finally closed. Against this backdrop, the Federal Council's proposal to introduce a bridging benefit for older unemployed people is an extremely important step and is and is very much welcomed by the trade unions.
It should be possible to work beyond the normal retirement age, but there should be no financial or hierarchical pressure on employees or the labor market. Based on this premise, the trade unions are in favour of making the retirement age more flexible, provided it is open and accessible to all employees. This means that people with medium and low incomes must also be able to retire earlier rather than having to work longer.
Making the retirement age more flexible can create jobs for younger people in particular. It therefore makes little sense for jobs to remain occupied by people who have already been retired for 10 years. However, this also means that our occupational pension system enables everyone to continue to lead a dignified life after reaching the normal retirement age at the latest. Anyone who has not had the benefit of a 2nd pillar pension for their entire working life and receives a minimum AHV pension can hardly speak of a dignified life. Financial hardship could force such people - who are primarily affected by poverty in old age - to continue working after retirement, even though they are physically no longer able to sit at a cash desk for eight hours a day, for example. On the other hand, the transfer of know-how, especially company-specific know-how, from experienced to younger employees is extremely valuable. The trade unions therefore also encourage employers to design internal succession plans with cross-generational tandem solutions, e.g. also in job sharing with partial retirement models (if financially feasible). It would be desirable if the sustainable effect of such models were given greater weight than is all too often the case with purely financial, short-term considerations.
Toya Krummenacher
President of the Basel Federation of Trade Unions
