Member Mail 10 / 2015
Calendar CampaignShift- and Working Hours
Freedom of Association (Right to form a Coalition)
Dear Colleagues
Swiss doesn’t seem to be safe from the radical restructurings Lufthansa (LH) has a particular liking for either. We expect that the new LH organization will be disclosed within a few months. After all, LH headquarters ought to know that Swiss’ structures have been slimmed down already to a great extent and that Swiss employees have been doing an extremely efficient and successful job. LH would be well advised to ensure that things keep running smoothly and that existing structures are not carelessly destroyed. Further details will follow.
Calendar Campaign
This year the popular SEV-GATA calendars will be distributed again. Activists, SEV-GATA commission members, shop stewards and union representatives from the SEV-secretary’s office will be present from ca. 06.30 to 08.30 h in
Basle: Monday, November 16, 2015
Zurich Obstgartenstrasse: Tuesday, November 24, 2015
Zurich Unterdorf: Wednesday, November 25, 2015
We still need more helpers for distributing the calendars. Please report to (Enable JavaScript to view protected content.) as soon as possible.
We are looking forward to lively discussions with our members and any other interested people.
Shift- and Working Hours
The implementation of the maintenance agreement is being intensively negotiated with those responsible at Swiss and those concerned. The persons directly affected are being regularly updated by their representatives in the delegation run by Regula Bieri, our union secretary and specialist for working hours. At the same time meetings are held for the revision of annex 2 of the CLA (regulations for working hours and breaks).
Freedom of Association (Right to Form a Coalition)
The right to unionize and to work in a union belongs to the basic rights that make a democratic state, founded under the rule of law, different from dictatorships and states whose citizens enjoy few civil rights. The freedom of association, also called the right to form a coalition, is an essential requirement to ensure that working conditions and social achievements are collectively guaranteed by regulations to compensate the employers’ economic position of power. Today this privilege has been firmly established in the federal constitution, paragraph 28. The rights derived from the freedom of association have been clearly defined by the convention No. 98 of the International Labour Organization (IAO or ILO) ratified by Switzerland. The freedom of association together with the ban on child- and slave labour belongs to the so-called „core labour standards“, which have to be respected worldwide regardless of national law. These fundamental social rights are human rights.
The right to form a coalition forbids employers to take any measures to stop you from joining a union. The same paragraph of the constitution says that employees are free to join a union. There is no compulsory membership whatsoever.
In Switzerland non-members benefit from the achievements of the collective labour agreement (CLA) negotiated between the social partners. For this reason they pay for performance costs (VKB) being directly deducted from their wages by the employer. They are entitled to the same full services as established in the CLA. SEV-GATA guarantees that its members get individual legal enforcement of their employment rights, including any court fees and legal expenses, as well as the right to co- determine in case of CLA claims. SEV-GATA offers multiple trainings and services (http://www.sev-gata.ch/downloads/1370843435_flyer%20dienstleistungen%20en.pdf). The performance costs are set off against the union fees (comp. membership fees http://www.sev-gata.ch/downloads/1415006255_Gestaltung%20Mitgliederbeitrages%20ab%202014_E.pdf).
A membership at SEV-GATA is worthwhile in many ways. With the new campaign you strengthen the union movement and you get an award (a pocket torch for 3 new members / a digital camera or a holiday gift token for 9 newly acquired members. In addition you’ll always get a cash bonus of 50 SFR for each new member). So you’ll benefit twice!
Best wishes
Philipp Hadorn, president
SEV-GATA, your union of the aviation industry!
Philipp Hadorn, president GATA: SEV-Aviation
Enable JavaScript to view protected content. / www.sev-gata.ch / www.sev-online.ch