World SME Day - challenges remain high
With World SME Day on June 27, the United Nations is paying tribute to the important role of SMEs. In Switzerland, too, small and medium-sized enterprises are indisputably the backbone of the national economy. Nevertheless, SMEs are confronted with numerous and often unnecessary bureaucratic and regulatory challenges, according to a voice from one such SME.
Around two-thirds of all employees in Switzerland work in SMEs. SMEs undoubtedly play a crucial role for both the Swiss and the global economy. The United Nations takes this fact into account with the World Day of SMEs on June 27. In practice, the important commitment of SMEs is less well recognized when it comes to the declaration of general validity of collective labor agreements (CLAs) by the administration.
Practice against the law
According to the current law, collective labor agreements can be declared generally valid for an entire industry if at least half of the employers are organized in an association and half of the employees in a trade union. This regulation serves to ensure that no minority can dictate the working rules for an entire industry. However, of a total of 79 collective labor agreements declared generally binding, an exception to this employee quorum was granted in 51 - this corresponds to around 64.5 percent. The exception provided for in the law has long since become the rule in practice. Especially at the expense of the larger SMEs, such as the window manufacturer 4B from Hochdorf (LU).
Competitive disadvantage compared to foreign competitors
The collective labor agreement in the case of the carpentry industry was designed for relatively small SMEs of five to ten people. This was done with the fundamentally important aim of ensuring that competitors cannot gain competitive advantages through poorer working conditions for employees. However, unlike many smaller SMEs, 4B - which is subject to the "Carpenters" collective labor agreement that is generally binding for the entire industry - is in competition with foreign players in particular.
"For us, the minimum wage prescribed in the CLA is not a problem," says Jean-Marc Devaud, CEO at 4B. In the competition for good employees, 4B offers attractive wages that are clearly above the minimum wage, as well as attractive working conditions in general. One problem, however, is the wage increases that the company is regularly forced to make because of the CLA. "These wage increases based on the watering can principle and not on the performance principle on our already high wages lead to a cost problem and a significant competitive disadvantage compared to foreign competitors," says the CEO.
Politics is called for
Among carpenters, only around 23 percent are organized in a union. The legally required quorum of 50 percent is therefore clearly not reached. Nevertheless, the CBA for carpenters has been declared generally binding for the entire industry - to the detriment of numerous SMEs. "In our view, this is a matter for politicians," says Devaud.
Source: 4B
