Quotas for jobs in Switzerland
In times of the strength of the Swiss franc and Brexit, Swiss companies are dependent on a minimum of flexibility in the labour market in order to keep companies and jobs at home. As part of the Federal Council's consultation on the determination of the annual maximum numbers (quotas) for foreign workers, the association of ICT providers Swico is calling for a much stronger alignment of the quota numbers with the needs of the economy.
For 2015 and also for 2016, the Federal Council significantly reduced the quotas for service providers from EU/EFTA states and third countries, which Swico strongly criticised even then. The Federal Council did this primarily with a political argument based on the adoption of the mass immigration initiative. However, these quotas have nothing to do with immigration, as they are short stays by specialists who remain employed abroad and also return there. They therefore neither enter the social system nor are they entitled to family reunification.
Quotas already allocated
Swico members have since felt the effects. In each of the six quarters since the cut, the quotas have been used up about halfway through, leading to a "greyhound race" among companies as well as a high degree of uncertainty, for example when bidding for international projects. If the crucial specialists (based abroad) remain unavailable when needed, Swiss development teams can run into difficulties: As a result, all orders are shifted abroad, which not only deprives Switzerland of added value, but also endangers the jobs previously located in Switzerland in the medium term.
Brexit - and what next?
The increasing deterioration of economic conditions in Switzerland, in particular also due to the strength of the Swiss franc, the increasing unpredictability of political developments as well as the uncertain consequences of the "Brexit" vote: all this now requires swift action by the Federal Council and a return to appropriate quota figures. These should be set according to labour market criteria rather than political expediency, which would have a positive impact on the entire Swiss labour and apprenticeship market.
You can find the entire statement under this Link
http://www.swico.ch
