Published
The RAV are criticized for not providing enough active support to job seekers. According to the trade union federation, a lot of potential labor is idle.
Since 2018, job registration has been mandatory in Switzerland with the aim of better exploiting the potential of the domestic workforce.
20min / Taddeo Cerletti
Going to the RAV is not attractive enough for many people and there is no entitlement to unemployment benefits, says Lampart.
20min / Simon Glauser
The job registration requirement aims to better utilize the potential of the domestic workforce.
According to the chief economist of the trade union federation, a lot of the domestic workforce remains untapped because going to the RAV is not attractive enough for many people who are not entitled to unemployment benefits.
Green National Councilor Regula Rytz calls for an information offensive.
Domestic workers have priority for vacancies. This is ensured by the job registration requirement. Switzerland introduced this in 2018 as a result of the “mass immigration initiative”. The goal: to better exploit the potential of the domestic workforce.
According to Daniel Lampart, chief economist of the Swiss Federation of Trade Unions (SGB), a lot of the domestic workforce remains untapped. He makes the regional employment centers (RAV) responsible. In a current blog entry – based on figures from the Federal Statistical Office (BFS) – he draws attention to the fact that around half of the unemployed are not registered with an RAV. The RAV are open to everyone, regardless of whether they are unemployed or not.
Companies in industries with high unemployment must report their vacancies to the Regional Employment Center (RAV) before they advertise them publicly. The job registration requirement is a consequence of the initiative «Against mass immigration», which the people accepted in 2014.
«More would register»
Going to the RAV is not attractive enough for many people and there is no entitlement to unemployment benefits (see box), says Lampart about 20 minutes. “But if these unemployed people had the feeling of receiving more support from the RAV in their job search, many more of them would register.”
Lampart demands that the RAVs invest more resources in job placement. «Thanks to the job registration requirement, the RAV have established employer contacts. Now it is a matter of providing job seekers with even more active support through job placement. ” Otherwise, a lot of the domestic workforce continues to fizzle out.
“Role is not well known”
Politicians are also concerned with this issue. In addition to the unemployed, the RAV also support job seekers, for example when they return to work after a family phase, says Regula Rytz, Green National Councilor and economic politician. “Unfortunately, this role is not well known to the population. That’s why a public information campaign is needed. “
For example, according to Rytz, information brochures at vocational schools, universities and industry organizations should draw attention to the fact that registering with the RAV helps to find a job, even if there is no or no entitlement to unemployment benefits. “Now that many employees have to reorient themselves because of the pandemic, this support is all the more important.”
Older workers are important
SVP National Councilor Thomas Matter disagrees. “With the online job boards there are now more application options than ever before,” says the economic politician. Matter claims that the RAVs are mostly run by unions. The unions are campaigning for more RAV registrations to collect themselves. “The unions’ unemployment funds earn on every registered unemployed person, which they would of course deny,” claims Matter.
Matter, on the other hand, sees great potential in older employees. “Incentives must be created so that employers hire older people.” It is untenable that 50-year-olds just can’t find a job because employers want to avoid the higher pension fund contributions.
The State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (Seco) does not want to comment on Daniel Lampart’s statements, as media spokeswoman Livia Willi said on request. “It is already a matter of course that people who have exhausted their daily allowance entitlement with the RAV are allowed to remain registered with a RAV on a voluntary basis.” The Seco recommend this too. “In this way, these people can continue to benefit from the services of the RAV and thus increase their chances of reintegration into the labor market.”
Employees, outsiders and self-employed people are not entitled to unemployment benefits. There is also no entitlement if someone has no previous employment in Switzerland or if it was a long time ago.
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