Publishers in French-speaking Switzerland stand by social partnership

At an extraordinary meeting on Monday, the French-speaking Swiss section of the Swiss Press Association decided to continue the social partnership with the Impressum journalists' union. The collective labor agreement for journalists in French-speaking Switzerland expires at the end of 2006 and was terminated by the publishers. The publishers have announced their intention to maintain the journalists' wage bill. The minimum wage regulation is to be simplified. Furthermore, wages are to be indexed according to the wishes of the publishers and the companies and not the industry, reports the news agency SDA. Impressum welcomed the publishers' willingness to talk, but considers the approach to be insufficient. The union wants to negotiate its position at the end of the month. It rejects an empty new collective employment contract, but is prepared to discuss an economic clause that would allow publishers and companies to make adjustments depending on the economic situation. Print journalists in German-speaking Switzerland and Ticino have had to make do without a collective employment agreement for almost two years. Since then, the media unions Comedia and Impressum have been trying to negotiate a new collective labor agreement with the Swiss Press Association.