Switzerland votes to end free movement of EU labour

[ALB]

By the slenderest of margins, Swiss voters have voted to impose quotas on workers coming from EU countries:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-26108597

According to the BBC, the capitalist class there is upset:

Quote:

This is the result the Swiss government and business leaders most feared: support for immigration quotas, by the tiniest of margins. In Switzerland the voters' word is final, and the government will now have to inform the European Union that it wants to "renegotiate" its bilateral agreement on free movement of people. But renegotiation is almost certainly not an option.

The Swiss have already had years to phase in the deal, and Brussels views free movement as integral to participation in Europe's single market. Exclusion from that market could spell disaster for Switzerland's booming economy: over half of all Swiss exports are sold in the EU. What is more, Swiss employers increasingly rely on highly qualified staff from across Europe – they believe they will lose their competitive edge if they are no longer free to employ who they like.

I think the majority of the British capitalist class take the same view. It will be interesting to see how their Swiss counterparts get round this which is not in the general capitalist interest there.

[Anonymous]

Nor in the interest of capital anywhere!  The point is that it doesn't matter what reforms workers vote for.  Capitalism will carry on regardless.

[steve colborn]

Indeed it will, Jonathan! Workers can piss and moan as much as they want, but what is without doubt, Capitalists will get their way sooner, or later.The only way for workers voices, to carry weight, is to advocate and work for, Socialisam. If you don't, you can always keep pissing against the wind. If this is your fancy, enjoy the smell and taste of urine! Stevie C.

[alanjjohnstone]

The price is now beginning to be paid. Brussels has frozen grants for Swiss universities worth hundreds of millions of euros in retaliation. In 2011-12, 2,600 Swiss students took advantage of Erasmus, while Switzerland played host to some 2,900 foreign students through the EU-funded exchange program. In addition Switzerland is ejected from Horizon 2020, an 80-billion-euro ($109.5 billion) research and innovation program that distributes funds over seven years (2014-2020).  Lausanne’s Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL) said it stands to lose 80 to 100 million francs annually in research grants, while ETH, the Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, could experience a similar slash in funding. http://rt.com/news/switzerland-eu-immigration-law-382/

[J Surman]

cynic: off stage left:"How much would another referendum cost?"

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