Wages and working conditions are under attack in Swiss-EU negotiations, and ETF supports its Swiss rail union SEV in their opposition to demands for the liberalisation of passenger rail in the negotiations between Switzerland and the EU on a cooperation agreement.
Considering renewed talks between Switzerland and the EU following the May 2021 breakdown, the Swiss federal government has been searching for concessions with the bloc and the Federal Office for Transport (Bundesamt für Verkehr – BAV) has recently proposed the possibility of liberalising rail transport in the country as one.
In particular, the expansion of Flixtrain to the Swiss network is cause for concern as this business model risks the extension of social dumping into the country, which has otherwise and up until now been a model for a well-functioning and socially considerate railway system.
Giorgio Tuti, ETF Railway Section Chair, summed up the trade union position: “ETF and the SEV support cooperation and the development of a social Europe, but not at the expense of workers.”