This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/europe/7877218.stm
The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Swiss to vote on EU worker rights | Swiss to vote on EU worker rights |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| Swiss voters are going to the polls to decide whether to continue allowing in workers from the European Union. | |
| More controversially for many Swiss, they will also vote on whether to extend that free movement to new EU members Bulgaria and Romania. | More controversially for many Swiss, they will also vote on whether to extend that free movement to new EU members Bulgaria and Romania. |
| Switzerland remains outside the EU - but its political and economic ties to Europe are very close. | Switzerland remains outside the EU - but its political and economic ties to Europe are very close. |
| A "no" to free movement could put that relationship at risk. Opinion polls indicate the vote will be close. | A "no" to free movement could put that relationship at risk. Opinion polls indicate the vote will be close. |
| Since the Swiss first introduced free movement of labour the number of EU citizens working in Switzerland has risen to over a million. | Since the Swiss first introduced free movement of labour the number of EU citizens working in Switzerland has risen to over a million. |
| Business leaders like Rudolf Staempfli say the policy has brought only benefits, despite doubts at the time. | Business leaders like Rudolf Staempfli say the policy has brought only benefits, despite doubts at the time. |
| "They suggested we wanted the cheap Polish worker in Switzerland, but the opposite has come true, we took skilled expensive workers," he said. "We do have a subsidiary in Poland, with swiss workers there. " | "They suggested we wanted the cheap Polish worker in Switzerland, but the opposite has come true, we took skilled expensive workers," he said. "We do have a subsidiary in Poland, with swiss workers there. " |
| But that first decision to allow in EU workers was taken during an economic boom - things are different now. Hans Fehr, member of parliament for the right-wing Swiss People's Party, claims extending free movement to Bulgaria and Romania could bring a mass influx of cheap labour. | |
| "Now we are in a recession, very hard - for Swiss businessman it is important to have low-paid workers and that is very dangerous for Swiss workers, maybe they lose their job," he says. | "Now we are in a recession, very hard - for Swiss businessman it is important to have low-paid workers and that is very dangerous for Swiss workers, maybe they lose their job," he says. |
| Opinion polls show the vote will be close - but a no vote could carry risks. | Opinion polls show the vote will be close - but a no vote could carry risks. |
| Switzerland may not be in the EU, but it needs a good relationship with Brussels - one in every two Swiss francs is earned through trade with the EU, and one in every three Swiss jobs depends on that trade. | Switzerland may not be in the EU, but it needs a good relationship with Brussels - one in every two Swiss francs is earned through trade with the EU, and one in every three Swiss jobs depends on that trade. |
| Brussels has made it clear the Swiss can't pick and choose EU policies - rejecting free movement could threaten those crucial trade ties. | Brussels has made it clear the Swiss can't pick and choose EU policies - rejecting free movement could threaten those crucial trade ties. |