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Switzerland

PSI Executive Board EB-153 (Geneva)

Date: 
14 November, 2018 to 15 November, 2018

NO to Privatisation of Ambulatory Surgical Care at HUG

13 March 2018

The Geneva University Hospitals, HUG (Hôpitaux Universitaires de Genève) recently issued tenders for private “partners” to run its ambulatory operation services, through a public-private partnership (PPP). This, as PSI Swiss affiliate le Syndicat des Services Publics (SSP) has pointed out, is a surreptitious introduction of privatisation of surgical care.

Swiss local government workers strike twice to defend quality public services and equal conditions

19 December 2017

Over 2,000 public sector workers of the Geneva Canton (Switzerland) went on strike on 14 December 2017 and gathered below the ancient walls of the Calvinist city letting their local government (Conseil d’Etat) know: “We are back and here to stay!”.

Union victory for operating theatre nursing assistants

19 October 2017
HUG hospital building

Four months ago, the Geneva University Hospitals, HUG (Hôpitaux universitaires de Genève) took a unilateral decision to increase daily working time of operating theatre nursing assistants from 8 hours to 10 hours. With the support of their trade union SSP, the workers mobilised against the management decision and in November they will return to their usual 8-hour day.

Worsening working conditions in the Swiss health sector

28 September 2017

Switzerland is globally reputed for having one of the world’s best healthcare systems. This could however be undermined by declining terms and conditions of work. Health workers constitute the backbone of healthcare services delivery and require decent work to render their services appropriately. But this is increasingly not being the case.

UN staff protest in Geneva against unilateral 7.5% pay cut

27 April 2017
No 7.5% pay cut

At its 84th session, in March 2017, the International Civil Service Commission (ICSC) decided that pay for UN Geneva-based staff will be reduced by 7.5%. This amounts to a reduction of one month’s salary in a year.

PSI Constitutional Meetings

27 February 2017

Swiss health workers mobilise for quality health and better working conditions

24 November 2016

The PSI affiliate Syndicat Suisse des Services Publics (SSP), is campaigning for the Quality of Care Over Profitability in Switzerland. This is a struggle against the 2012 Health Insurance Act which institutionalised the commercialisation and outsourcing of healthcare delivery.

Global trade union movement condemns unpaid internships, calls on UN to change policy

09 August 2016

In the lead up to International Youth Day, PSI joins NGOs and unions from around the world in calling for an end to unpaid internships. A growing resistance to the use of unpaid interns has led to the formation of a number of interns’ rights organisations such as the Fair Internship Initiative in Geneva and New York as well as the “We Pay Our Interns" coalition, a Geneva-based association of NGOs which commit to a charter on interns’ rights and lobby other employers to do the same.

Climate change: Towards and Beyond COP21

08 October 2015

The solutions to the climate challenge require a substantive transformation of the current socio-economic development paradigm, including industrial change. This is not just about some technical changes to energy production or transport systems. What is required is a redefinition of the predominant model of production and consumption. We must give back to the state and public services their role in supporting our communities, and ensure that workers and trade unions are able to participate fully in all steps of this process.