On 14 February Switzerland’s metal sector’s social partners joined forces to combat a new initiative by the Swiss People’s Party (also known as the Democratic Union of the Centre, or the UDC – a national conservative populist party) that is looking to organize a new referendum on prohibiting immigration from EU Member States. Launched on 16 January 2018, this initiative come three years after the successful ‘Referendum opposing mass immigration’ and also envisages re-establishing a more liberal world of work. The proposed referendum primarily targets trade unions that are accused of being the primary beneficiaries of immigration flows. In terms of pure economics, if this type of initiative does succeed then it could lead to a break-down of the major EU-Swiss bi-lateral agreements and result in a shortage of skilled manpower, the scale of which has not been seen before.
An initiative to counter immigration and to promote a liberal labor market. On the 16 January, the ultra-conservative Swiss People’s Party, which participates in the governmental Federal Council and has the largest presence at the parliamentary National Council, launched a new populist initiative called ‘Border Restrictions’ aimed at limiting the number of immigrants. The initiative particularly affects the free movement of people between Switzerland and the EU. The initiative is also aiming to
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