News

Swiss communications and media union Syndicom has signed a sectorial collective agreement with CallNet.Ch and ContactSwiss, two employers’ associations who represent the most important contact centers in Switzerland. The sectorial agreement will establish minimum pay and standards throughout the industry in Switzerland protecting working conditions.

Typically contact centre workers’ pay and conditions are undermined by the tendering process where contact centre companies compete for clients by lowering their prices through reducing workers’ pay and conditions. A sectorial agreement creates a level playing field where all companies have the same minimum standards when competing for a contract with a client.

According to Syndicom, all three social partners share the common objective of regulating work in the contact centre industry, levelling the playing field in Switzerland, and having a legally binding sectorial agreement. Through the sectorial agreement, the union and the employers are able to ensure higher quality standards, continuous development, and increased professionalism.

Giorgio Pardini, Head of the ICT Sector at Syndicom, believes that apart from providing workers with a legally binding framework of employment security in terms of wages, working time, and holidays, the sector agreement will also provide respect for workers in the industry.

Reliable and homogenous minimum standards of working conditions not only prevent social dumping but also contribute to quality assurance since it provides fair competition under equitable circumstances throughout the industry. The sector agreement came into effect on the 1st of July 2017.