Unia represents the interests of employees in the private economy. As a trade union, it negotiates collective labour agreements for them and offers legal protection to its more than 170,000 members.
Unia has over 170,000 members. It is organised in 13 regions and has around 90 local offices. Unia has signed roughly 240 collective labour agreements, from which around 1.2 million workers benefit.
Unia is politically active and is committed to a fair and just society. With this goal in mind, it has launched various people's initiatives and referenda and also organises rallies and demonstrations.
In Switzerland, it is everybody’s right to choose the unemployment fund of their preference in the case of unemployment. The independent Unia unemployment fund operates around 65 payment offices around Switzerland and pays out more than CHF 1 billion in unemployment benefits per year.
Unia is a democratic organisation. Its active members decide on all key political and strategic issues. Its supreme governing body is the convention, which is held every four years and elects the Central Board and the Executive Board. Between conventions, the assembly of delegates (AoD) represents the convention as the highest managing body.
Under the terms of Unia's constitution, convention delegates and assembly delegates must reflect the composition of the organisation's members, in particular with respect to sectors or age.
At least 33% of convention delegates and of assembly of delegates, as well as elected representatives on the Central Board and Executive Board, must be female. Men and women are represented on the organs of the sectors and regions proportionate to their ratio in the respective group.
Unia represents and promotes the social, economic, political, professional and cultural interests of all employees. It is committed to gender equality in the workplace, family and community.
Unia is a committed and dynamic trade union which applies its extensive expertise and know-how of the labour world, coupled with highly effective negotiating skills, to engage in all issues related to industrial and contract policy (collective labour agreements) with the aim of improving working conditions and, where necessary, does not shy away from taking the fight to employers.
Unia further promotes the professional training and wider education of its members.
Unia is a successful trade union - young, dynamic and also increasingly female. Men and women, Swiss and migrants, young and older employees are equal and at home in Unia. This trade union identity also finds expression in communal cultural events.
Unia is founded on the core values of solidarity, equality, freedom, peace and sustainability. It defends the fundamental democratic and social rights of all and strives to extend them, irrespective of gender, social standing or origin, language and age. With this in mind, Unia campaigns for the global implementation of worker and trade union rights - hand-in-hand and in solidarity with the European and global trade union movement.
Unia aims to ensure that we live in a fair and just world with a focus on the social needs of human beings rather than on capital. To this end, it works with progressive movements, groups and parties and is committed to the best possible work-life balance.
Unia is a democratic organisation within which its members decide on the key political and strategic issues. Committed members and trusted parties are essential for successful trade union and political campaigns. And successful industrial and political campaigns make Unia attractive for members.
As an inter-professional trade union, Unia organises employees in the industrial, craft, construction and services sectors as well as persons not in employment and pensioners.
Unia boasts a motivated and enthusiastic workforce. Backed by extensive knowledge and first-class expertise, they perform all manner of trade union related tasks, particularly by providing assistance and advice to members and trusted parties in businesses, motivating new members to join, spearheading campaigns, negotiating collective employment agreements with sectors and businesses, and providing services related to the unemployment fund.
Unia promotes the skills of its employees by providing solid grounding in trade union matters, as well as continuing training and education in trade union and speciality areas.
Unia's key aims are to provide better living and working conditions. The campaign rests on three pillars: Unia campaigns for progressive collective labour agreements, exerts influence on relevant legislation, and offers its members additional security and legal protection through professional services.
Unia shows initiative and is campaign-fit and ready for action in all areas of the country.
Unia aims to strengthen the degree of organized workers in all relevant areas of the private sector, to grow its membership significantly, and to become a strong, influential trade union force in the service sector. In addition, Unia is aiming to increase the proportion of women among its members and its own staff.
Unia consistently directs all processes and activities towards developing its membership (attracting new members, encouraging member commitment and member participation), with the aim of effectively promoting social justice.
Unia fights to ensure and create good working conditions and future-proof jobs in the individual sectors.
Switzerland’s economic sectors are undergoing ongoing structural change, with new jobs being created, others being moved abroad and yet others disappearing entirely. How can structural change be influenced in such a way as to create jobs and secure good working conditions? To address this challenge, Unia has formulated individual policies for the manufacturing and services sectors.
The industrial sector in Switzerland accounts for the highest share of GDP than in any other western Europe country. The central tenet of Unia's industrial policy is: investment. Investment in the future and in training and research is the key to creating new jobs. The document entitled «Wir fordern eine aktive Industriepolitik» (PDF) sets out recommendations for a new approach to the changing economic and social environment.
The hospitality sector is suffering from structural problems. As a social partner of the collective labour agreement for the hospitality sector, Unia seeks to improve working conditions and shape the sector's development. The publication «Perspektiven im Gastgewerbe» (PDF) recommends ways in which the hospitality sector can ensure good working conditions and resolve structural problems by exploiting untapped potential.
With its 320,000 employees, the retail industry is the second largest business sector in Switzerland. Stress is a major factor in retail jobs, and working conditions are difficult and strenuous. With around 14,000 members, Unia is the strongest trade union force in the retail industry and solidly anchored among employees in this branch of industry. Our members in the retail industry determine in various committees our strategy and objectives for this sector. Unia is committed to the improvement of working conditions: As a contractual partner of the Coop Collective Labour Agreement (CLA), including all existing local collective employment agreements of a generally binding nature.
Is industrial policy heading for a renaissance, and is there a progressive industrial and regional economic policy? The Denknetz think tank addresses these questions in «Industriepolitik in Europa».
Industrie-News is our video podcast for employees in industry. It is published 3 to 4 times a year and provides information on news, reports, business information and legal tips from the industry in German and French.
Unia seeks to promote good working conditions and future-proof jobs. It pursues this goal through collective labour agreements (CLA) and contractual partnerships. But when it comes to ways of tackling an economic crisis or the overvalued Swiss franc, the only option is to exert influence on economic policy.
Unia regularly analyses the global, European and Swiss economies and publishes its findings in «Wirtschaftsinfo».
The industrial sector in Switzerland accounts for the highest share of GDP than in any other western Europe country. The central focus of Unia's manufacturing sector policy is investment. Investment in the future, and investment in training and research is the key to creating new jobs.
In the hospitality and retail services sectors, Unia makes concrete recommendations on ways of securing jobs and improving working conditions.
Every year Unia studies the changes in the income gap between the lowest and highest salaries (in German) in the 36 largest stock-exchange-listed companies in Switzerland.
In the ongoing debate surrounding the free movement of persons and the accompanying social measures, the stakes for the trade union movement are enormous. Worker unity and the struggle against precariousness and exploitation is under attack.
Right-wing forces are trying to turn this social struggle – which it clearly is – into a nationalist struggle for identity and against foreigners and immigrants.
Attempts at isolation and xenophobic discrimination are unfortunately not just a thing of the past. A look at the history of the struggle for equal rights and the abolition of workers’ seasonal status highlights the hard-won gains and helps us understand what is at stake if the populist right succeeds in turning back the clock.
It is essential that trade unions and the left as a whole remain committed to the fundamental principles of equal rights and social protection for all. We are dedicated to fighting for good working conditions, better wages and greater social rights for all those living and working in our country, without exception and without discrimination.
Unia supports international solidarity in a number of ways. It takes an active part in establishing structures that ensure cooperation with trade unions in European countries and China, has union experts in European work councils and networks in Swiss transnational companies.
On the European level, Unia is affiliated with the European sectoral trade unions. Unia also engages in the activities of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC). In term of social issues, Europe has come under strong pressure in recent years. Unia therefore focuses its European efforts mainly on
Another important priority is cross-border cooperation with trade unions and Unia's work on European Works Councils.
On the wider international level, Unia has a proud tradition of commitment to international solidarity. Its activities primarily take place in international sectoral federations (IndustriALL, BHI, UNI and others) and on the International Trade Unions Confederation (ITUC) via the Swiss Federation of Trade Unions (SGB).
The main areas in which Unia is active internationally are:
We furthermore collaborate with many non-governmental organisations (NGO) and social movements. Many of these organisations take part in the World Social Forum. Our vision is one of a united Switzerland within a socially consolidated Europe, and a form of international cooperation based on sustainability.
Unia is affiliated to:
Unia is represented through the SGB in: