Unia, No. 1 in Geneva A cross-industry union, Unia represents workers in all branches of the private sector.

With 200,000 members, Unia is Switzerland's largest union. Covering almost the entire private sector, it negotiates the working conditions and wages of more than a million people.

Unia defends the interests of workers in the private sector.

Unia defends the interests of all workers. It implements modern CLAs, strengthens employees' rights and is committed to a sustainable social security model. It acts in the name of fairness and social justice. In addition, Unia manages Switzerland's largest unemployment fund.

The members' union

Unia is a democratic organization, where members vote on important political and strategic issues. Its supreme body is the ordinary congress, held every four years. The Unia congress elects the central committee and the managing committee. Meanwhile, the assembly of delegates represents the congress as the supreme body of the members.

The composition of Unia's bodies

Unia's statutes provide that the composition of delegations to the congress and delegate assembly must reflect the composition of the membership as a whole, particularly with regard to branches, nationality and age.

A minimum of one third women

A minimum of33% of delegate members at congress and elected representatives on the central committee and steering committee must be women. In sector and branch bodies, women and men are represented in accordance with their proportion in the corresponding employee group.

At least one third of the members delegated to the congress and of the representatives elected to the central committee and steering committee must be women.

The Unia Interest Groups (IG) are active at national level, in all Unia regions and in many sections. Alongside political issues, the focus is on the social dimension of union life. At Unia, it's a pleasure to get involved as a member!

10 years ago, the Unia union was born out of the desire to create a social force that could not be ignored and that was well established in companies. From the merger of several unions emerged what is today Switzerland's largest employee organization. The goal of uniting energies to effectively defend workers' rights has been achieved.

Priorities of European activities

At European level, Unia is affiliated to the main branch associations. Unia also participates in the activities of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC).

Social Europe has come under great pressure in recent years. Unia is therefore focusing on:

• a European policy on minimum wages;
• a concerted action against wage dumping, to enforce the principle of "equal pay for equal work in the same place";
• a vast investment plan for Europe.

Cross-border trade union cooperation and activities within European Works Councils (EWCs) are also of great importance.

At international level, Unia has a long tradition of involvement, mainly in industry associations (IndustriALL, IBB, UNI, etc.) but also, via the Swiss Trade Union Confederation (USS), in the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC).

Unia's main fields of activity:

• campaigns in favor of fundamental rights and trade union rights. These campaigns, conducted in many countries, go hand in hand with active lobbying of international institutions, such as the International Labor Organization (ILO) or the World Bank.
• cooperation projects and campaigns with other trade unions, to strengthen the trade union movement worldwide and ensure the promotion of decent work. Campaigns at major sporting events are a good example.
• framework agreements with multinationals aimed at enforcing ILO core labor standards.

We nurture our collaboration with a large number of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and social movements. Most of these organizations participate in the World Social Forum. Our vision is that of a Switzerland of solidarity at the heart of a social Europe, as well as globalization at the service of sustainable development.

The Unia union is committed to better working conditions and wages, as well as good social benefits. Yet only together are we strong: the more of us who make our voices heard, the better the results achieved by the union. Join Unia!

Your benefits

• Legal advice and protection in the event of professional difficulties or social insurance disputes
• Reimbursement of professional contributions
• Free training courses
• Subscription to the newspaper "L'Evénement syndical" (or to "Work" or "area")
• Special discounts from Reka, Switcher, Coop Bank and Coop Legal Protection and smile.direct insurance
• Holiday offers.

"Other benefits for Unia members

Become a Unia member - so you can get good working conditions for your colleagues and yourself!

"Join now