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Shaped by Switzerland’s unique geopolitical position—surrounded by European Union (EU) member states but not itself a member—the country’s immigration policies have evolved through direct democracy mechanisms, bilateral agreements with the EU, and domestic political debates over the social and economic impacts of migration.
The citizens of the member states of the European Economic Area (which includes the EU) have the same right of freedom of movement in the EEA as EU citizens do within the Union. [25] Additionally, the European Union, its member states, and Switzerland have concluded a multilateral agreement with the same meaning. [26]
The introduction of a European form of citizenship with precisely defined rights and duties was considered as long ago as the 1960s", [12] but the roots of "the key rights of EU citizenship—primarily the right to live and the right to work anywhere within the territory of the Member States—can be traced back to the free movement provisions ...
Slightly more than 5 million people work in Switzerland; [162] about 25% of employees belonged to a trade union in 2004. [163] Switzerland has a more flexible labor market than neighbouring countries and the unemployment rate is consistently low. [164] The unemployment rate increased from 1.7% in June 2000 to 4.4% in December 2009. [165]
As the revolutions of 1848 in Western Europe had failed elsewhere, Switzerland during the later 19th century (and with the exception of the French Third Republic, until the end of World War I) found itself as an isolated democratic republic, surrounded by the restored monarchies of France, Italy, Austria-Hungary and Germany.
A citizen of one EU or EFTA country can live and work indefinitely in the other EU and EFTA countries. However, countries can limit the right to vote and work in certain sensitive fields (such as government, police, military) to local citizens only. [377] Immigrants from another EU or EFTA country can be refused welfare benefits. [378]
The Health Protection at Work shall not apply in Switzerland as labor law, but is treated under the accident insurance law . The working conditions of foreign workers (ISVA minimum standards in employment contracts) are posted only for individual projects / assignments in Switzerland. It is mainly wage and social dumping preventio.
For instance, right-to-work states often have some strong pro-business policies, making it difficult to isolate the effect of right-to-work laws. [33] Holmes compared counties close to the border between states with and without right-to-work laws, thereby holding constant an array of factors related to geography and climate.