Recently published statistics show that more than half of the residents in certain parts of France were employed in Switzerland in 2018. © Sergii Figurnyi | Dreamstime.comThe data, published by INSEE, a French statistics agency, found that more than half of households in the communes du Genevois, Pays de Gex and Annemasse-Les Voirons, all regions bordering Switzerland, contained family members who worked abroad, almost all of them in Switzerland. In the communes du Genevois, 67% of...
Read More »Lights out – Geneva to cut lights to save electricity
This week, the government of the canton of Geneva changed a law to require non residential buildings, with some exceptions, to switch off their lights at night between 1am and 6am. Thursday’s parliamentary vote in favour of the move is expected to cut the canton’s electricity consumption by at least 1%. During parts of winter, Switzerland imports electricity to keep its lights on. In November 2021, Switzerland’s president warned the nation to prepare for electricity...
Read More »Lights out – Geneva to cut lights to save electricity
This week, the government of the canton of Geneva changed a law to require non residential buildings, with some exceptions, to switch off their lights at night between 1am and 6am. Thursday’s parliamentary vote in favour of the move is expected to cut the canton’s electricity consumption by at least 1%. During parts of winter, Switzerland imports electricity to keep its lights on. In November 2021, Switzerland’s president warned the nation to prepare for electricity shortages. Lighting...
Read More »Public worker absenteeism costs Geneva 285 million francs a year
© Lauvergnat Laurent | Dreamstime.com Public worker absenteeism in Geneva costs at least CHF 285 million, according to Heidi.news, which calculated the sum based on information contained in an internal document. According to the news service the cost of absenteeism, which continues to rise, is equivalent to 11% of the 2.54 billion spent public sector workers’ salaries in 2019 and 3% of the canton’s total public sector spending that year. This is the first time that...
Read More »Public worker absenteeism costs Geneva 285 million francs a year
Public worker absenteeism in Geneva costs at least CHF 285 million, according to Heidi.news, which calculated the sum based on information contained in an internal document. © Lauvergnat Laurent | Dreamstime.comAccording to the news service the cost of absenteeism, which continues to rise, is equivalent to 11% of the 2.54 billion spent public sector workers’ salaries in 2019 and 3% of the canton’s total public sector spending that year. This is the first time that such information has...
Read More »Coronavirus: latest antibody study suggests 10.8 percent of Geneva infected in first wave
© Eduard Goricev | Dreamstime.com A recently published update to the ongoing study in Geneva to assess the extent of SARS-CoV-2 infection suggests 10.8% of the population may have been infected in the first wave of infections. The study, which tests a sample of the population over time for IgG SARS-CoV-2 antibodies, started in early April 2020. The latest figures come from the fifth week of testing, which was concluded on 9 May 2020. In the first week, 4.8% tested...
Read More »Unemployment in Geneva higher than neighbouring France
In December last year, the Observatoire statistique transfrontalier published unemployment figures for the French region surrounding Geneva. © Anders Lundstedt | Dreamstime.comFrench unemployment calculations broadly follow the method used by the International Labour Organisation (ILO), which includes all available job seekers – ILO definition of unemployment and French definition of unemployment. Official Swiss figures however include only those registered as unemployed, a lower...
Read More »Unemployment in Geneva higher than neighbouring France
© Anders Lundstedt | Dreamstime.com In December last year, the Observatoire statistique transfrontalier published unemployment figures for the French region surrounding Geneva. French unemployment calculations follow the method used by the International Labour Organisation (ILO), which include all job seekers, according to Tribune de Genève. Official Swiss numbers only include those registered as unemployed, which is a lower percentage that excludes those who would...
Read More »Geneva to ban Uber if it doesn’t change its operating model
After a legal analyis the government of the canton of Geneva has decided that drivers of the ride hailing service are employees rather than independent contractors, effectively banning Uber from operating under its current model. © Oleksandr Lutsenko | Dreamstime.com In an interview with RTS, Mauro Poggia, a lawyer and Geneva state councillor, said that Uber is a transport company and as such must employ its drivers. Employees are treated differently to contractors. One of the key...
Read More »Geneva’s 2020 budget 590 million francs short
© Elenaphotos | Dreamstime.com Next year the canton of Geneva plans to spend CHF 9,143 million. However, forecast revenue is only CHF 8,553 million, leaving a shortfall of CHF 590 million, according to a cantonal government press release. The canton’s finances have been hit hard from both sides. Costs will rise significantly, mainly due to the bailout of the state employee pension fund (+213 million) and higher health insurance subsidies (+176 million). In addition,...
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