Syndicom on fixed book prices
With both chambers’ approval of the Fixed Book Price Law, a long-running dispute has come to an end. Syndicom, the Media and Communications Union (formerly Comedia), has been advocating for fixed book prices since 1999 as the labor organization representing book industry employees.
Fixed book prices promote cultural diversity, a dense bookselling network and interesting jobs. Syndicom is very pleased with this decision. The majority of parliament has thus taken account of the dual nature of books as cultural assets and commodities, the union writes in a press release.
However, the new law does not simply mean a return to the time before fixed book prices were abolished in 2007. The price watchdog will now play a prominent role in pricing, and there will be more discount options. What the price supervisor cannot change, however, is the different cost structure in Switzerland and in our neighboring countries. Anyone who ignores this wants the "sausage" and not cultural diversity. Last but not least, the example of Great Britain shows that the new opponents of the law are thinking very short-term. Studies from the UK, where fixed prices were abolished in the mid-1990s, showed that books had not become more expensive on average with fixed book prices, but cheaper.
