The key element of the social partnership in the Swiss tech industries is the collective employment agreement (CEA). This guarantees the employees of the participating companies progressive working conditions which go well beyond the statutory minimum. In return, the employees agree to refrain from industrial action of any kind.
Any conflicts are resolved within the partnership; that is, not through civil courts. The CEA provides clearly defined conflict resolution processes.
The current CEA for the tech industries came into effect on 1 July 2023 and is valid until 30 June 2028. Detailed information on the social partnership system and the CEA can be found on www.sozialpartner.ch.
Swissmem member companies are absolutely free to choose whether or not to apply the CEA. Currently, around half of the member companies are subject to the agreement.
Co-determination through employee representative bodies
To make the social partnership work at company level, the employee representative bodies need to receive adequate training. This task is carried out by the AAA (Association for the Training of Employee Representatives) in accordance with the Collective Employment Contract (CEC MEM). Training is provided by both sides equally, i.e. by both employer representatives and representatives from the unions and employees’ associations.
See www.aaa-mem.ch for more information.