Swiss bankers ought to get a bonus for their efforts during the pandemic and a sizeable pay increase, according to the Swiss Bank Employee Association.
A pay rise of 1.8 percent plus a one-off corona-bonus of 900 Swiss francs ($983) for all bank employees. These are the two demands of the Swiss Bank Employee Association published in a statement on Tuesday (in German).
The association asserts that employers ought to compensate their staff for their extra-effort performed during the pandemic. It said that bankers not only were forced to take care of their own health situation but also had to compensate for absent colleagues and alleviate worries among clients.
This extra burden was carried by a workforce that has shrunk from 108,000 in 2010 to 89,500 in 2019, according to official statistics.
Pay Rise as an Act of Solidarity
For this extra work, bankers ought to get compensation. The association also referred to the financial reports by banks this year so far, having in general performed well despite the difficulties. One of the reasons why banks have fared comparatively well is their role in granting corona-loans to Swiss businesses, guaranteed by the government.
The association also argued that bankers should get a pay rise of 1.8 percent in a bid to support ailing sectors of the economy and said that this would be an act of solidarity.
Upper-End Demand
UBS, the country’s largest bank, last week concluded that wages in finance would rise an average of 0.8 percent next year, based on a company survey.
This increase would already put the industry at the upper end of the scale. Time will tell whether banks will find it necessary and opportune to give an increase of double that amount to their staff out of solidarity with the less-well-off.
