Care slaves: Basel takes action on behalf of exploited workers
The federal council should have solved the problem of work exploitation, but Bern has only pushed the issue towards the cantons. At least the “Respekt” network for care migrants in Basel could now win a court case for underpaid care migrants.
They come from Poland, Hungary, or Romania in order to help. They are mostly recruited on the Internet. Their working hours are often 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Various companies recruit these women for housework and care duties on behalf of the relatives of those who need care. These companies charge the families between 5000 and 13,500 Swiss francs per month. So far, so good... if it were not for the case that some Eastern European women actually only earn 1000 francs per month. The State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) is well aware of it.
In Basel, legal adviser Eliane Albisser from the VPOD trade union is fighting for and with the care migrants. On request, she discussed her worst case. “A woman was with a patient woman until she died and for this she had slept for about a month in the woman’s room – she never left her side. There was no free time or rest period. After the woman’s death, during the arbitration discussions, the relatives were not willing to compensate the woman, since the contract only contained 42 hours of work per week.” In this case legal action is still pending.
At the haphazard mercy of employers
For the VPOD it is clear that cases of exploitation against these workers can only be fought efficiently if there is a nationwide solution, i.e. a subordination under the labour law: “Although the federal government has fixed binding minimal wages for housework, these women are at the mercy of the employer in terms of calculations, payments, times of presence, and other important issues,” said Ms Albisser.
In its press release, the federal government writes: “The federal government concludes that depending on the regulation, annual additional costs of between 70 million and half a billion francs are to be expected. Considering the demographic development these costs would increase by fifty per cent by 2030.” Therefore, it’s all about money.
Mrs Albisser added: “I think the federal government is reluctant since they know that a fair and legally binding regulation has high costs.” She added that there were also societal reasons: “Unfortunately it has a long history that care work is performed as typical ‘women’s work’ and is badly paid or underpaid, and not especially acknowledged. In arbitration this always becomes clear when talking to employers. They permanently play down the workload and therefore pose the question whether care work is work at all.”
In Basel the “Respekt” network, established by the trade union VPOD four years ago, created a network of care migrants and gave them solidarity. And in the Basel civil court, for the first time, a Polish woman won her case and will receive back-pay for all the hours she was working. The result, achieved in October 2014, was very important in Basel, Ms Albisser said.
“I have participated in many arbitrations since, where this sentence was referred to,” she said. “The arbitrator once told the relatives of an old woman to give in to our demands for payment since the judges in a potential law suit would refer to it as well.”
The federal government wants to conduct a consultation process until mid 2018, and thereafter the employment contracts for care migrants should be definitively regulated. Eliane Albisser made the point that for respekt@vpod.ch it is clear that aging with dignity also means showing respect also to the carers and offering them dignified work conditions.
“While carers do such a valuable job for many families and bring a lot of relief, they also should be paid and respected for their effort, and not exploited,” she added.
“The significance of carers has strongly increased in the last years. Many older people in our region are very grateful for this support and they also show it. Even close friendships have been made. It cannot be that such a successful model is going to be endangered or destroyed by tight, irresponsible relatives.”
Wild west on the motorway in Lörrach: Fight between Swiss drivers
Scenes like in the Wild West occurred on the motorway A98 near Lörrach on Friday. Two drivers from Switzerland got into a fight, which resulted in a police investigation and a broken camera.
One man told the police he was driving in his white Opel, which has Solothurn number plates, on the A98 towards Lörrach when a dark grey car with canton of Zug number plates shunted his car from the side. The Opel driver said he was also shown the finger. He then pointed out the camera on his windscreen to the other driver.
Physical fight
Both cars left the motorway shortly afterwards at the Lörrach-Ost exit. The road rage driver stopped and approached the Opel driver who had also pulled over. They began to argue before the driver of the grey car ripped the camera off the windscreen of the Opel before getting back into his car and driving off towards Lörrach. The victim followed the perpetrator but lost sight of him. He then went to the police station to report the incident. The police are investigating various crimes and are looking for witnesses in this case.
Party chaos: Strange age restrictions in Basel clubs
In Bar Rouge, the age minimum changes depending on the event which is on, according to the website party guide. Elsewhere, Balz Club changes its age minimum according to which day of the week it is. There is club chaos in Basel when it comes to age.
You don’t just have to pay entry but also need to show your ID card – not a rare occurrence in Basel’s clubs. People get to do amazing things at the age of 18 in Switzerland, e.g. voting or driving around in fancy cars. On the other hand you must pay taxes and join the army. As easy it is for the government, it isn’t for the clubs in Basel. They have bizarre age restrictions. The magic number for girls is 21 and 23 for boys.
One clubber, who gave her name as Leonie, from Hochwald (SO), said: “Earlier I had to show my ID card now and again. Sometimes I was too young but I always managed to get in. The bouncers seem not to be too bothered – you can always enter Club Fame in Kleinbasel despite age restrictions. The resurrected Atlantis is officially exclusively for those 20 years old and over. However, nobody asks for your age at the door,” she said.
The “A2” opens its doors
Anyone can attend a club night at the former Hinterhof area from the age of 20. The former club however was previously frequented by visitors who on average had passed this age a few years ago and have made themselves comfortable between 20 and 30. Whether this will change or not is uncertain since the new area is only three weeks old.
The A2 club near St Jakob allows night owls from 18 years and over into the bowels of the ice rink hall. Here, it is mostly younger people who clink their glasses to adulthood. However, it is also older people who often find their way into the “world of nocturnal experience“ as the club calls itself.
For all those aged between 20 and 23 it is a lottery to be given access to Paddys at Heuwaage. Several factors must be considered. First: The bouncer. Experienced Paddys customers know one or two on the door. There are those who act rigorously – nobody under 23 can get in. Then there are the bouncers who fawn over women; their age comes second when it comes to entry. And then there are those who are not really sure of the age of the person and rely on their gut feeling. Then one has to consider the time. Very clever (too young) visitors go to Paddys at 9pm – the bouncers have not yet arrived, and those who are already in, are in. It is really hard for anyone to get into the club from 2am. At the door, sometimes age is mentioned as a reason, but actually there is just no room for more people.
And the 16-year-olds?
Those who have not really left the protected age have to be more patient than in earlier days. Earlier, there were the Kuppel and the Sommercasino – also called SoCa – where 16-year-olds could party at the weekend. The Kuppel however no longer exists and the Sommercasino (which goes under another name) has raised its age minimum. The new concept, which is shifting from “youth culture“ to “young culture“ sets the age minimum at 18, according to those in the know.
The Basler party scene is automatically aging. A few years ago even 18-year-olds were welcomed in the local clubs. However, today they have to be a bit more patient. This is to the delight of the bars in Basel – there are mostly no age restrictions for entry.