The fact that an SVP member is supposed to mediate the SDA dispute is causing resentment
Marc Häusler, the district administrator of Oberaargau, is set to mediate the dispute between the employer and employees at SDA. The fact that he is a member of the SVP is causing unease among the staff.
This is because the SVP is the only party that strictly and unanimously rejects future state support for the news agency.
The State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (Seco) last week announced the three members of the "Federal Conciliation Board for the Settlement of Collective Labor Disputes." In a letter to the parties to the dispute obtained by Switzerland at the weekend, the three names are mentioned: Alexander Frei of the Basel Employers' Association represents the employer side, and Irene Darwich of the Syna union represents the employee side. Marc Häusler is the chairman of the three-member panel.
According to Häusler, however, the concerns of the SDA staff are unnecessary. His party affiliation plays no role in the performance of his duties as government governor, he tells Schweiz am Wochenende. "And I promise that it will not do so in this dispute resolution process either." Häusler is used to mediating conflicts: as government governor, he forms the hinge between the Bernese government, the municipalities and their residents, explains the 41-year-old. However, he has never mediated in the media sector. According to Häusler, this is an opportunity because he is unbiased and can ask questions "that may seem innocent, but will force the conflicting parties to think and question their own position.
However, the composition of the panel is not yet definitive, because the conflicting parties can raise objections against the composition until next Friday. (hae)
