Negotiations between Swisscom and the syndicom and transfair trade unions for the new collective labor agreement (CCL) have been concluded. From 1 January 2024, employees will be able to count on various improvements including a new parental leave, more holidays and a strengthening of flexible working time models.
The Swisscom CBA, which affects around 10,000 employees, was revised and further updated with the common goal of offering attractive and up-to-date working conditions. The main innovations: the strengthening of flexible working time models, the extension of maternity, paternity and adoption leave as well as the introduction of parental leave for same-sex couples or, if both parents work at Swisscom, a new calculation of vacation days with a slight increase in the total number as well as an increase in training allowances. The new CCL will enter into force on 1 January 2024.
Strengthening of flexible working time models
Swisscom has been committed to flexible and part-time working models for a long time. The new CCL takes another step in this direction. Requests to change the occupancy level submitted by employees are reviewed by Swisscom in the light of business needs.
Such requests by the staff can only be rejected by superiors with a written justification. In addition, from 2024 until 2026, employees over the age of 60 will have the option of opting for a so-called seniority part-time model to reduce the degree of employment with or without partial retirement. Swisscom bears part of the financial consequences of the reduction. Finally, talks on the organization of working time will continue in the coming months and the implementation of possible pilot projects in this area will be discussed.
More days off and paid leave
Employees receive between one and three extra days of vacation depending on their age. Maternity leave increased from 18 to 20 weeks, paternity leave from three to four weeks and adoption leave from two to four weeks. If both parents work for Swisscom, mum’s 20 weeks’ leave and dad’s 4 weeks can be combined into flexible parental leave for a total of 24 weeks. In same-sex female couples, the mother’s partner receives four weeks of parental leave; in male ones, on the other hand, four weeks of paternity or adoption leave is recognized.
Increase in the minimum wage and training allowances
The new annual minimum wage is CHF 54’600 gross instead of CHF 52’000, while training allowances rise to 290 francs per month for each child instead of 250 unless the applicable cantonal law provides for higher amounts.
Clementina Pejic, CPO at Swisscom: «I thank the social partners and the negotiating delegation for the constructive negotiations and the good result. We already offer our employees very fair, modern and attractive employment conditions. With the new CBA, we are making timely changes to continue being one of the best employers in Switzerland.”
Daniel Hügli, Head of ICT at syndicom: «We have obtained a further reduction in net working hours, while with the establishment of seniority part-time we set a new model available to personnel in the collective agreement. Furthermore, the increase in leave and vacation days improves the reconciliation of work and private life. In the coming months we intend to evaluate together the possibility of organizing pilot projects to understand how working hours can be structured in the future.”
Net working hours are understood to be the total annual working hours, net of holidays, leave and public holidays.
Robert Métrailler, responsible for the ICT sector at Transfair: «transfair sat down at the negotiating table for the new CEC with the aim of achieving improvements that would benefit all Swisscom personnel. Now we can say that our union has managed to achieve its goal. In addition to the additional vacation days, the aspect of family policy deserves special emphasis with the increase in parental, maternity, paternity and adoption leave as well as new working models. Employees can thus count on a CCL that meets the needs and expectations of today’s families.»