Caritas: more support for the working poor

Context

In brief

• Almost 360'000 workers are at risk of poverty
• 8,8% of the working population cannot cover family needs
• Including family members, the figure exceeds 820'000 people
• Caritas proposes a minimum wage and support for families

Key facts

• Organization → Caritas
• Workers concerned → almost 360'000
• Share of the working population → 8,8%
• People affected including family members → over 820'000
• Measurement method → new method introduced in 2014
• Proposed measures → statutory minimum wage, predictable working hours and workloads
• Supplementary benefits → already in force in five cantons
• Groups most exposed → single parents and people without post-compulsory education

Caritas's request

Almost 360'000 workers in Switzerland, equivalent to 8,8% of the working population, do not earn enough to provide for their families' needs. This is Caritas's estimate, released on the eve of a new increase in health insurance premiums.

The number of people exposed to the risk of poverty, the organization emphasizes, has never been this high since the introduction of the new measurement method in 2014. If family members living in the same household are added, the total exceeds 820'000 people.

Caritas maintains that the problem of the so-called «working poor» in Switzerland is chronically underestimated. In its new position statement, it has therefore proposed «targeted measures», with the aim of strengthening support for those who work but cannot cover their family's needs.

Proposals on work

Among the proposals is a statutory minimum wage. The organization is also calling for more predictable working hours and workloads. In this area, the position statement specifies, employers also have a responsibility through collective agreements.

The package outlined by Caritas also includes supplementary benefits for families, already in force in five cantons. These should support parents whose income is insufficient to support the family.

Another proposal concerns scholarships for the labor market. These should enable the «working poor» to pursue employment-oriented continuing education, also covering lost income and any childcare costs.

According to Caritas, workers particularly at risk of poverty include, for example, single parents and people without post-compulsory education. Taking family members into account also broadens the numerical scope indicated by the organization: the problem affects the entire household.

Operational details

From wages to the family budget

The Caritas snapshot concerns people who work, but whose income does not cover their family's needs. The practical analysis starts here: in-work poverty is not measured merely by looking at whether someone has a job, but at the relationship between income and the household's needs.

The reference to health insurance premiums makes the issue of costo della vita in Svizzera concrete. For residents, LAMal/KVG is mandatory; premiums are per capita and premium reductions are administered by the cantons. Insurance is neither a tax nor a payroll contribution. For a family with limited resources, the distinction matters: the premium is not the same as a deduction from one's salary, but is an expense to be included in the budget.

The scope of the proposal remains income during employment, not a change to AVS/AHV or LPP/BVG. The levers identified by Caritas are in fact the minimum wage, work schedules, family support and continuing education.

Four levers, four effects

The table shows why the measures are not interchangeable. The minimum wage affects remuneration; predictable schedules and workloads concern the planning of family life. Supplementary benefits act on household support, while scholarships seek to remove the economic cost of training.

The fact that family benefits are already in force in five cantons introduces a concrete territorial difference. Caritas's proposal therefore asks us to look not only at the payslip, but also at the measures available in the canton and at the possibility of pursuing training without losing income or having to bear childcare costs alone.

Among the groups mentioned, single parents and people without post-compulsory education are included in the same area of risk. The position nevertheless combines distinct instruments: support for household maintenance, greater predictability of work and continuing education.

Useful planning tools

To estimate your pension strategy, use the pension planner and the pillar 3 simulator.

Key points

From the problem to the practical steps

Caritas' position paper proposes different instruments; for those living with insufficient income, the first practical task is not to consider them as a single benefit. It is necessary to distinguish what concerns income, what concerns the canton, what concerns working hours, and what concerns training.

A four-step path

1. Measure available household income. The reference point is the household: Caritas speaks of the family's needs and includes in the calculation the people who live in the same household. The comparison must therefore be made between total income and maintenance needs. 2. Check the support provided by the canton. Supplementary benefits for families are already in force in five cantons. The concrete step is to check whether one's own canton is among them and how the benefits are applied to parents whose income is insufficient for their livelihood. 3. Separate training from loss of income. The labor-market scholarship proposed by Caritas should cover job-oriented continuing education, loss of income, and any childcare costs. These are the elements to compare before assessing a pathway. 4. Examine working hours, workloads, and the collective agreement. More predictable working hours and workloads are among the organization's demands. Caritas also assigns responsibility to employers through collective agreements: the worker can therefore check whether an agreement governs their employment relationship and discuss its application with the employer.

The healthcare section should be kept separate. LAMal/KVG provides per-capita premiums and reductions in cantonal premiums; the new increase mentioned by Caritas concerns health insurance premiums, not a new payroll deduction. To organize the items, one can consult the guide to busta paga svizzera and read separately the section dedicated to LAMal/cassa malati.

Not all levers have the same degree of implementation: family benefits are already in force in five cantons, whereas labor-market scholarships are presented as a proposal. The statutory minimum wage and greater predictability of working hours and workloads are also demands contained in the position paper. This distinction prevents confusing support already indicated as operational with a proposed measure.

To compare income with household expenses and understand which item weighs most, use Frontaliere Ticino's calcolatore stipendio.

Source: rsi.ch