Dispute Over Wage Protection in EU Treaty Package: FDP Vice Caroni Calls It an "Erpressungsversuch" by the Unions

Appenzell Ausserrhoden Ständerat Andrea Caroni, Vice President of the FDP, made his position clear when asked. He does not support wage protection measure 14 because it is a substantively irrelevant demand that has nothing to do with the treaty package. It is ultimately "ein Erpressungsversuch" by the unions, said Caroni. With this choice of words, the FDP vice is intensifying the dispute over tying labor market policy demands to the EU treaty.

What the Controversy Is About

In substance, the issue concerns which accompanying measures Switzerland needs in wage protection if the EU treaty package reorganizes the bilateral agreements. The unions are calling for more extensive protection against wage dumping. Caroni, however, does not consider this demand a mandatory prerequisite of the treaty package and sees it as outside the actual negotiating mandate.

Caroni's criticism is directed primarily against SGB President Pierre-Yves Maillard, who had repeatedly pushed in recent weeks for an expansion of wage protection. Several members of the responsible committee in parliament had also signaled that wage protection measure 14 could play a role in the negotiations with the EU. That had raised fears that the treaty package could be blocked by domestic political demands.

Pressure on the Treaty Package Grows

Supporters of the treaty package are now raising the alarm and demanding that negotiations with the EU not be jeopardized by additional domestic political conditions. They point out that the economic and political value of bilateral relations with the EU must not be put at risk by a single socio-political demand. At the same time, pressure is growing on the Federal Council to clarify which conditions it considers indispensable for the package.

There was also criticism of the unions' approach from SP circles. Co-party president Cédric Wermuth had previously made clear that the SP stands behind the EU treaty package, but at the same time formulated the expectation that accompanying protective rules would not be watered down. This positions the SP between the unions, which are demanding more wage protection, and the bourgeois parties, which want to conclude the package quickly.

Reactions from the SP and Unions

The FDP, meanwhile, is showing divisions. While Caroni strictly rejects wage protection measure 14, other FDP representatives consider it negotiable, provided it does not call the package as a whole into question. These differences within the FDP are an indication of how great the pressure on the entire treaty package currently is.

Meanwhile, union representatives are preparing possible protest actions if parliament does not include wage protection measure 14 in the treaty package. SGB President Pierre-Yves Maillard had recently announced that the unions were prepared, if necessary, for "massive" reactions. This threatens a further escalation of the conflict, even before the parliamentary deliberation on the treaty package has properly begun.

Observers see a fundamental problem in the controversy: Switzerland is trying to link domestic political demands with foreign policy negotiating packages. This increases the risk that the EU treaty package will fail either due to union resistance or resistance from bourgeois forces. Time is pressing, because without an agreement, important bilateral agreements between Switzerland and the EU could fall away.

What Comes Next

In the coming weeks, the responsible committee of parliament is expected to begin initial deliberations on the treaty package. It will then become clear whether wage protection measure 14 finds its way into the negotiations at all, or whether, as demanded by Caroni, it is completely separated from the package. The outcome of this question is regarded as a litmus test for the political viability of the entire EU treaty package.