Social partnership: Secure employment outlook for Swiss Post employees
Swiss Post, the Kommunikation trade union and the transfair employees association have agreed a package of measures for 2011 in their negotiations on a secure employment outlook. Employees will benefit from a further training fund, a partial retirement model and the possibility of early retirement. The package already includes the salary measures for employees who work in accordance with the Swiss Post CEC. The general salary increase will be 1%. Moreover, Swiss Post will pay the entire employee contribution of 1% for restructuring the Swiss Post pension fund, as in 2010. Swiss Post is setting aside 0.8% of the total salary sum for individual performance-related compensation. A separate agreement concerns the new and uniform redundancy plan intended for future restructurings.
The 2011 package offers Swiss Post employees additional measures aimed at securing employment, regardless of any specific operational change. This includes the sum of CHF 5 m for further training. This is intended to ensure the internal and external marketability of employees in the job market. The social partners will decide jointly on specific use of the resources. In addition, a partial retirement model co-financed by Swiss Post will be available to employees aged 58 years or older on a basic annual salary of max. CHF 85,000, while employees aged 62 or older will have the option of taking early retirement. There will not be any legal entitlement to either option.
Uniform redundancy plan
In addition to the package of measures for 2011, the social partners have reached agreement on a new redundancy plan. It guarantees uniform treatment of employees in the event of corporate restructurings and will replace the current redundancy agreement in the Swiss Post CEC.
The negotiating delegations of Swiss Post and the trade unions have agreed the following points for the 2011 salary measures:
– Employees subject to the Swiss Post CEC will receive a general salary increase of 1% next year.
– Moreover, Swiss Post will take on the entire employee contribution of 1% for 2011 which will go towards reorganizing the Swiss Post pension fund.
– Swiss Post is setting aside 0.8% of the total salary sum for individual remuneration.
These salary measures for 2011 affect the 36,000 or so employees who are subject to the Swiss Post CEC. Employees in the CEC auxiliary categories will also receive a general salary increase of 1%. Separate salary negotiations will be conducted for the employees of PostBus Switzerland Ltd, PostLogistics Ltd, InfraPost Ltd and SecurePost Ltd.
The decision-making bodies at Swiss Post and the unions still have to approve the outcome of the negotiations. At Swiss Post this is the Board of Directors, at Kommunikation the company conference for the postal/logistics sector and at transfair the industry plenum.
