Social partnership: The Migros Group National Committee takes stock

Genuine social partnership has to start with the employees. It must be lived for them and through them.

That is what corporate co-determination stands for, something that Migros has been doing uniquely for 30 years: as full members of the Board of Directors, elected employee representatives have a say on all matters of corporate and personnel policy at the very highest level. That is what the Human Resources Committees stand for at corporate level; as internal social partners with fully developed co-determination and participation rights, looking after the economic and social interests of all employees.

And that is what the Migros Group National Committee stands for; its members are directly and democratically elected from among the 80,000 members of staff, in whose interests it acts and speaks representatively and powerfully at Migros Group level. What it says carries weight. The balance sheet for 2009 offers impressive proof of this.

Negotiations on the Migros national collective agreement for the years 2011 to 2014 were successfully concluded. The national collective agreement, one of the best on offer in Switzerland, has been renewed at a high level with all benefits and achievements – despite the financial and economic crises, despite intense competition and price wars; additional benefits totalling over CHF 600 million a year have therefore been secured for employees.

While elsewhere there were either no wage negotiations at all, or they ended with no pay rise being awarded, on 1 January 2010 the National Committee implemented an increase in the total payroll of up to 1%, or around CHF 45 million. As a result, members of staff have been able to maintain and improve their purchasing power.

In these negotiations, the National Committee has strongly defended what is of fundamental importance to it: that the Migros national collective agreement is the complete collective agreement for all Migros employees, that the interests of all Migros employees are paramount, and that it will reject any attempt to exploit Migros employees for any kind of political agenda or attitudes.

Representing over 80,000 members of staff from around 50 companies that operate in 29 different industries – something that is quite unique in this form in the Swiss working world – demands a high degree of basic competence, specific expertise and a good knowledge of the industry. To this end, the National Committee has carried out a fundamental review of the training concept for its members, focussing on the key issues of corporate governance, processes of change, health and equal pay. With up to 10 paid training days a year, its members will get themselves fit to face up to the challenges to come.

Employee figures