Vania Alleva, the boss of Switzerland’s largest trade union, says wage discrimination should be eliminated before women are made to work longer. She wants voters to say ‘no’ to a reform of the old-age pension system on September 25.

The central plank of the reform is an increase in the retirement age for women from 64 to 65, putting them on an equal footing with men. Government, parliament, and parties from the right and centre all say this is a necessary measure. But the change provoked an outcry from the left and trade unions, who collected 150,000 signatures to force a referendum.

For Vania Alleva, the president of Switzerland’s largest trade union Unia, the reform is unacceptable.

Vania Alleva: The pension system has no structural problems. It is solid, it has no liquidity issues. The latest results show this: last year, it made a profit of CHF2.6 billion ($2.64 billion). There is no need for this reform, which is at the expense of women.

SWI: But without reform the system will be in deficit from 2029 onwards, according to projections by the Federal Social Insurance Office. How would we continue to finance pensions?

V.A.: The authorities’ forecasts are too pessimistic. Every ten years, the government makes a mistake in its predictions, leaving it out by several billion francs. The system will certainly have to shoulder the retirement of the baby boomer generation. However, we can find other ways to solve this transitional problem, if we have to. It is a question of political will.

SWI: What solutions do the left and the unions propose to deal with this problem?

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