Today in Switzerland: A roundup of the latest news on Friday
Find out what's going on today in Switzerland with The Local's short roundup of the news.
New guide shows what your salary should be in Switzerland
The new Swiss wage book provides a comprehensive overview of the salaries that are customary in each canton, profession, and industry.
As an example, for the canton of Zurich, a carpenter earns 4,165 francs a month after completing an apprenticeship — the amount that increases to 4,363 a year later, and grows with each additional year of experience, reaching 5,060 francs after four years of employment.
Salaries for some other professions and specific sectors can be found in the photo gallery here.
The wage book can be ordered online for the price of 80 francs.
READ MORE: What is the average salary for (almost) every job in Switzerland?
Traffic jams, bottlenecks expected ahead of the Easter weekend
With Covid rules scrapped, more people are likely to travel on Swiss roads for Easter holidays.
“Experience shows that the traffic during this period begins to intensify from the afternoon of the Wednesday preceding Easter. On this day, as well as on Thursday and Good Friday, travelers should expect to wait in queues, especially at the northern portal of the Gotthard road tunnel”, the Federal Roads Office (ASTRA) said in a press release on Thursday.
These routes will experience particularly heavy traffic and bottlenecks, according to ASTRA:
- Spiez – Kandersteg
- Gampel – Goppenstein
- Brunnen – Flüelen
- Raron – Brig
- Bellinzona – Locarno
- Sections of various main roads in the Bernese Oberland, Graubünden and the Valais side valleys.
ASTRA published a map showing where bottlenecks are expected.
Image: ASTRA
More trains for Easter
A good alternative for Easter travellers who don’t want be stranded in traffic (see above) is to take a train .
As Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) expect increased numbers of passengers during this period, the company will add 24 trains between German-speaking Switzerland and Ticino.
This represents “nearly 31,000 additional places”, SBB said. Several regular trains will be supplemented with additional cars or units, including EuroCity trains bound for Italy.
SBB advise passengers travelling during Easter to reserve their seats ahead of time.
Court decides on language requirement for naturalisation
Switzerland’s highest court ruled on Thursday that a Swiss high school diploma is sufficient proof of a candidate’s language proficiency for naturalisation.
The case involves a young woman from Cameroon, who is of French mother tongue and came to Switzerland at the age of eight.
As she applied for naturalisation in a German-speaking municipality of Thun (canton Bern), she supplied her new high school diploma, showing that her knowledge of German is adequate. However, as her proficiency was not validated by the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM), as is required, Thun authorities rejected her application.
The Federal Court decided, however, that it is "excessive and contrary to the system" to require naturalisation applicants to have their federally recognised school diplomas approved by SEM. The diplomas should constitute sufficient proof of language proficiency, the court ruled.
READ MORE: How did Switzerland become a country with four languages?
If you have any questions about life in Switzerland, ideas for articles or news tips for The Local, please get in touch with us at [email protected]
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New guide shows what your salary should be in Switzerland
The new Swiss wage book provides a comprehensive overview of the salaries that are customary in each canton, profession, and industry.
As an example, for the canton of Zurich, a carpenter earns 4,165 francs a month after completing an apprenticeship — the amount that increases to 4,363 a year later, and grows with each additional year of experience, reaching 5,060 francs after four years of employment.
Salaries for some other professions and specific sectors can be found in the photo gallery here.
The wage book can be ordered online for the price of 80 francs.
READ MORE: What is the average salary for (almost) every job in Switzerland?
Traffic jams, bottlenecks expected ahead of the Easter weekend
With Covid rules scrapped, more people are likely to travel on Swiss roads for Easter holidays.
“Experience shows that the traffic during this period begins to intensify from the afternoon of the Wednesday preceding Easter. On this day, as well as on Thursday and Good Friday, travelers should expect to wait in queues, especially at the northern portal of the Gotthard road tunnel”, the Federal Roads Office (ASTRA) said in a press release on Thursday.
These routes will experience particularly heavy traffic and bottlenecks, according to ASTRA:
- Spiez – Kandersteg
- Gampel – Goppenstein
- Brunnen – Flüelen
- Raron – Brig
- Bellinzona – Locarno
- Sections of various main roads in the Bernese Oberland, Graubünden and the Valais side valleys.
ASTRA published a map showing where bottlenecks are expected.
Image: ASTRA
More trains for Easter
A good alternative for Easter travellers who don’t want be stranded in traffic (see above) is to take a train .
As Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) expect increased numbers of passengers during this period, the company will add 24 trains between German-speaking Switzerland and Ticino.
This represents “nearly 31,000 additional places”, SBB said. Several regular trains will be supplemented with additional cars or units, including EuroCity trains bound for Italy.
SBB advise passengers travelling during Easter to reserve their seats ahead of time.
Court decides on language requirement for naturalisation
Switzerland’s highest court ruled on Thursday that a Swiss high school diploma is sufficient proof of a candidate’s language proficiency for naturalisation.
The case involves a young woman from Cameroon, who is of French mother tongue and came to Switzerland at the age of eight.
As she applied for naturalisation in a German-speaking municipality of Thun (canton Bern), she supplied her new high school diploma, showing that her knowledge of German is adequate. However, as her proficiency was not validated by the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM), as is required, Thun authorities rejected her application.
The Federal Court decided, however, that it is "excessive and contrary to the system" to require naturalisation applicants to have their federally recognised school diplomas approved by SEM. The diplomas should constitute sufficient proof of language proficiency, the court ruled.
READ MORE: How did Switzerland become a country with four languages?
If you have any questions about life in Switzerland, ideas for articles or news tips for The Local, please get in touch with us at [email protected]
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