55.6% of cross-border workers believe Swiss residents earn more

Context

TL;DR

• 55,6% considers their salary lower
• 48,4% reports a decrease in purchasing power
• 73% states that they are satisfied with their pay
• 1.542 workers in the survey presented in Varese

Key facts

• Study → Cisl and OCST
• Research → BiblioLavoro with the local Cisl branches
• Sample → 1.542 workers
• Presentation → Saturday in Varese
• Wage comparison → 55,6% consider it unfavorable
• Purchasing power → 48,4% say it has decreased
• Satisfaction → 73%
• Private car → 73,2% of respondents

According to the research, 55,6% of the workers surveyed believe they receive a lower salary than a resident of Switzerland performing similar duties. The study was conducted by the BiblioLavoro center with the Cisl branches of the Lakes, Sondrio and Eastern Piedmont, and with OCST, together with the Italian trade union Cisl. Presented on Saturday in Varese, the survey involved 1.542 workers who cross the border daily to go to work.

The result does not amount to a generalized negative assessment of pay. 73% of respondents say they are satisfied with their remuneration. The share reporting a disadvantage compared with a Swiss resident differs from the satisfied share by 17,4 percentage points, calculated from the figures in the same survey. The comparison describes two different responses; it does not measure the actual gap between salaries.

Purchasing power also provides a distinct indicator: 48,4% state that it has decreased. The source therefore juxtaposes satisfaction with remuneration and loss of purchasing power without attributing a causal relationship between the two data points. The survey captures perceptions reported by participants; it does not present individual pay slips or an average salary.

Who conducted the research

The work stems from collaboration between BiblioLavoro, the Cisl branches of the Lakes, Sondrio and Eastern Piedmont, and OCST. The article presents it as a Cisl study on workers who cross the border daily. The location indicated for the presentation is Varese; the source does not provide a calendar date beyond the reference to Saturday.

This basis allows the figures to be read as results from the sample of 1.542 people. The text does not provide a breakdown by profession, company or individual territory. Therefore, the comparison among perceptions of pay, satisfaction and purchasing power remains as reported by the survey, without extending it to categories not described.

Operational details

The second segment of the survey highlights commuting times: for almost one third of the sample, the journey between home and work takes more than an hour and a half per day. A private car is used by 73,2% of respondents, while for almost half of the sample, mobility costs account for between 5 and 10% of their salary. The possibility of working remotely, which would help reduce travel, applies to only 37,4% of the sample.

Taken together, these figures compare time, expenditure, means of transport used, and the possibility of working remotely, but do not establish that one item causes the other. The gap between the 73,2% who use a car and the 37,4% who have access to remote working is 35,8 percentage points. This is a difference between two shares from the same survey, not a measure of how many motorists cannot work remotely: the source does not cross-reference individual responses.

Comparison of the indicators

The reference to 10% indicates the upper limit of the range reported by the study, not an average expense. The source also does not calculate an individual amount or distinguish between different distances or travel methods. The figure therefore makes it possible to measure the stated burden of mobility, not to reconstruct the cost incurred by each cross-border commuter.

The survey also finds a gender difference in terms of pay: 25,4% of female workers earn less than 3.000 gross francs per month, compared with 8,2% of men. The gap, calculated by subtracting the published percentages, is 17,2 percentage points. The source also specifies that men are more represented in the salary bracket above 5.000 francs, without providing the exact share.

This comparison also describes a distribution, but does not explain its reasons. The study does not indicate occupations, seniority, hours worked, or other factors useful for breaking down the gap. The available data therefore show differences between groups and commuting conditions, without turning them into a causal explanation.

Key points

The survey also examines the possibility of moving across the border: only one in four respondents would be willing to do so in Switzerland. According to the wording of the study, therefore, the majority does not consider relocation an option. The high cost of living, the burden of health insurance premiums and the distance from family and loved ones discourage that choice.

This result should be kept separate from the other indicators concerning pay. The source reports the assessment of pay and willingness to relocate separately, without providing a cross-tabulation of the two responses. Likewise, it does not attribute the decrease in purchasing power to a specific cause. The survey therefore shows a stated choice and its main obstacles, but does not construct an individual profile of workers willing to relocate.

The union's demand

In light of the results, Cisl is calling for a Statute for cross-border workers. Marco Contessa, the union's national head of Cross-Border Workers, argues that the specific circumstances of those who work across the border need to be recognized. The union identifies three priorities: a more predictable tax framework, pension transparency and a stable governance structure for cross-border relations. “A Statute is needed” is the wording with which Cisl summarizes the position presented.

To define the limits of what the research documents, the text provided contains no data on the G permit, AVS, LPP, LAMal, withholding tax, INPS or double taxation. Nor does it quantify an average salary, or specify the survey period; it only reports that the study was presented on Saturday in Varese. It does not break down the results by Canton Ticino, occupation, sector or individual company.

These omissions limit the interpretation: the figures show how the sample assesses pay, mobility, purchasing power and relocation, but they do not describe tax or social-security rules, differences between border crossings or routes, or trends over time. It is therefore not possible to turn these results into an individual estimate or a complete description of the conditions of every cross-border worker. Any further reading would require data that the source does not make available.

Source: tio.ch