Social Partnership & CLAs

The staff representatives have a seat on the boards of directors, the personnel policy committees of the Migros companies and the National Committee of the Migros Group. As a result, the collective labour agreements (CLAs) concluded in relation to the multi-level social partnership are also the collective labour agreements of the Migros employees. The Migros Group's CLAs stand for progressive, exemplary and responsible working conditions. 

Migros N-CLA

Migros' national collective labour agreement (N-CLA) has stood for family-friendly working conditions since 1983 and is now one of the best and largest collective labour agreements in Switzerland. More than 51'000 employees in some 40 companies benefit from the terms of the collective labour agreement. Its standards, benefits and achievements set national benchmarks.

Together with its social and contractual partners (the National Committee of the Migros Group, KV Schweiz, Metzgereipersonal-Verband), Migros has pledged to continue to meet its responsibilities to employees between 2015 and 2018. Negotiations for the revision of the N-CLA for 2015 to 2018 focused on family policies in the interest of improving the compatibility of career and family, and on equal treatment of different family structures and ways of living.

The Migros N-CLA grants maternity leave of 18 weeks at full pay. Paid paternity leave amounts to three weeks, with an option of an additional unpaid two weeks. In the case of adoption, the leave granted is equivalent to paternity leave. Foster parents and carers, registered same-sex partnerships and unmarried couples have the same rights as married couples, and adopted children are treated the same as biological children. Salary negotiations take place annually under the Migros N-CLA.

CLA Travel

On 1 January 2011, the first collective labour agreement for the Swiss travel industry came into force in the form of CLA Travel. It was agreed by Hotelplan Suisse, Hotelplan Management and Interhome with the travel employees' association and the personnel policy committees of the Hotelplan Group and ran until the end of 2014. CLA Travel was renegotiated in 2014 and sets high standards for working conditions in the travel industry for 2015 – 2018.

The subsidiary BTA First Travel will continue to apply the applicable CLA terms to ensure that all companies of the Hotelplan Group in Switzerland have the same working conditions. A comprehensive co-determination system creates wide-ranging possibilities for employees to play a part in determining the working conditions.

CLA in globo

CLA in globo 2016 – 2019 is one of the few collective labour agreements for retailing (including department stores) in Switzerland, and the only exclusive collective labour agreement for the department store, clothing, office supplies, furniture and interior furnishing sectors. It has applied in the companies Magazine zum Globus AG (Globus, Herren Globus, Schild), Interio AG, Depot CH AG, Office World AG, Iba AG and Tramondi Büro AG since 2016. CLA in globo leads the way in family policies, education and training, and occupational health management.

In conjunction with the employees' association ghio, founded in 2011, employees have been given more and better options in which to participate. Ghio – along with the Swiss Association of Commercial Employees – remains the partner for negotiations relating to the collective labour agreements and wage policy.

CLA coverage

In 2016, 64.8% of employees in the Migros Group were covered by a collective labour agreement – considerably higher than the average for the Swiss labour market (39.1%).

Staff participation

In 2016, the 48 personnel policy committees and delegations consisted of 440 members. As democratically elected staff representatives, 211 women and 229 men performed a key role with extensive participation rights at corporate level.

As an occupational social partner of the companies and the regional cooperatives, they represented the social and economic interests of employees in all business units. The personnel policy committees are democratically authorised and representative. They also represent the executive employees below director level, who are able to contribute their expertise to the committees.

With a share of 83.4% employees, 4.3% trainees and 12.3% executive employees, there is a broad and balanced representation on the personnel policy committees.