info 3/09 english

3/2009

Grenz-ErfahrungenL’expérience des limites

Experiencing life’s boundaries

info September 2009 3

MitgliedschaftenAngestellte Schweizarb: Angestellten Vereinigung Region BaselStarke Region Basel

RedaktionsteamHenriette Brunner, Maria Jablonowski-Becker, Ruedi Haas,Daniel Linder, Roland Hirt, Davide Lauditi, Sabine Zeller,Susanne Hänni

KontaktadresseNovartis International AGHenriette BrunnerPostfach, 4002 BaselTelefon 061 324 43 43E-Mail [email protected] www.nav.ch

NAV GeschäftsstelleWRO-1225.P, Postfach, 4002 BaselTelefon 061 697 39 00Telefax 061 697 76 73E-Mail [email protected]

Offizielle AdresseNovartis AngestelltenverbandMattenstrasse 51, Postfach, 4002 Basel

info erscheint vierteljährlichLaufende Nr.: 47/2009Auflage: 3700 Expl.

Redaktionsschluss info 4/200929. Oktober 2009

Versand info 4/200911. Dezember 2009

ÜbersetzungenInter-Translations SA, Pavillonweg 4, 3001 BernCLS Communications AG, Elisabethenanlage 11, 4051 Basel

TitelbildGrenz-Erfahrungen (Foto WoK design)

Grafik/Satzcdesign, Reinach

DruckRunser Druck & Satz AG, Basel

Jegliche Wiedergabe von Artikeln und Bildern, auchauszugsweise, nur mit schriftlicher Genehmigung derRedaktion.

La reproduction/publication d’articles et de photos ainsique d’extraits d’articles ne peut se faire sans l’accordécrit de la rédaction.

The reproduction of this publication in any form is forbidden without the expressed written consent of theeditorial team.

Impressum

Sämtliche Artikel finden Sie auch unter: www.nav.ch

Inhalt

EditorialGrenz-Erfahrungen 4

Sozialpartnerschaft bei NovartisPensionskasse – Erwartungen im 3. Lebensabschnitt 6

NAV Jahresthema 2009 – SozialpartnerschaftEs braucht einen starken Hausverband 8

NAV, für Sie aktiv

Mitglieder werben Mitglieder 11

Steuerliche Probleme deutscherGrenzgänger in der Schweiz 12

Sehenswertes aus Basel, Regio und Interregio12. Beitrag aus dem Kanton Baselland,Schweiz, Kloster Schönthal 14

Ein kulinarischer Streifzug durch den Campus 16

Netzwerke externarb – Lohnumfrage Region Basel 18

Novacomics 46

EditorialExperiencing life’s boundaries 5

Social partnership at NovartisPension fund – Senior citizens’ expectations 33

NAV topic of the year 2009 – Social partnershipNeed for a strong in-house association 35

NAV, working for youTax problems of frontier residents coming from Germany to work inSwitzerland 37

Sights worth seeing in Basel, the Regio and Interregio12th contribution from Baselland Canton, Switzerland, Schönthal Monastery 40

A culinary stroll through the campus 42

Members recruit members 44

External networksarb – Basel regional pay survey 45

EditorialL’expérience des limites 4

Partenariat social chez NovartisCaisse de pensions – attentes du 3e âge 20

Thème NAV de l’année 2009 – partenariat socialNous avons besoin d’une associationinterne forte 22

NAV, active pour vousLes membres parrainent des membres 25

Problèmes fiscaux des frontaliers allemands en Suisse 26

Curiosités de Bâle, régio et interrégio12e partie: canton de Bâle-Campagne, Suisse, couvent de Schönthal 28

Virée gastronomique à travers le campus 30

Réseaux externesarb – enquête sur les salaires dans la région de Bâle 32

5info September 2009

Who among us hasn’t en-countered boundaries atsome stage in their lives? Beit setting boundaries, ob-

serving boundaries, exceeding, avoiding oreven going so far as to disregard them,these experiences are an important part ofgrowing up. Children look for the bound-aries and test how far they can go beforeMom or Dad draw the line. Every childoversteps the mark at some point, and

even when a child rebels it needs to know what the boundaries are as a kind of guiderail for its behavior.

One often pushes back one’s personal frontiers in life. Many ambitious athletes chal-lenge themselves in this way at some stage in their sporting career. One shifts one’s per-sonal boundaries a little further each time in order to discover just how far one can stillgo. One pushes oneself to the limit, sets oneself, higher objectives to aim for, and expe-riences what it feels like to test the boundaries in the process. However, many a personhas also tested themselves to the limit. People often train until they have nothing leftto give, or even beyond. They try to beat current records, shift the boundaries and setnew ones. They try and try again, experience setbacks and take steps forward; one hasto experience boundaries to understand them or else there is nothing to strive for,which means there is no scope for growth.

“The only way to discover the limits of the possible

is to go beyond them into the impossible.”

Arthur C. Clarke

However, there are other types of boundaries, too. There are tree lines, snow lines,weather fronts, national boundaries, borderline cases and many others. Boundaries canattract or divide, and they can also imply legal constraints. They can mean that personswho live in the same country as their friends, but work in a different country, are subject to different tax systems. This affects cross-border commuters, for example, wholive in Germany and work in Switzerland. Cross-border commuters may suffer tax disadvantages compared with their colleagues who work in Germany. That’s why, someyears ago, the NAV declared itself willing to provide financial support for a test caserelating to tax problems faced by cross-border commuters resident in Germany. So far,unfortunately, we have only achieved partial (temporary) successes, but we will keepworking on it for you. Take a look at the article on page 37 which illustrates how theNAV too can reach beyond its boundaries, for example in working together with Roche’semployee association.

Your NAV Chairperson

Henriette Brunner

Experiencinglife’s boundaries


Social partnership at Novartis

Generally speaking, humans strivefor security and well-being. Thisis particularly true later in lifeand in old age. The key ele-

ments required for a secure retirement arehealth and financial assurance. Besides the

1st pillar (AHV: Retirement and survivors’pension plan) and 3rd pillar (individual sav-ings account, sometimes tax-deductible),retirement in Switzerland, i.e. after youturn 65, is mainly financed by the 2nd pil-lar, i.e. occupational pension fund.

When it comes to the issue of pensionfund plans, in other words defined bene-fit plans vs. defined contribution plans,there is strong polarization. In employeecircles, defined benefit plans are consid-ered very safe in terms of the benefitsthey guarantee. But even defined benefitplans offer no guarantee if the capitalmarkets do not perform as desired, if thepension fund does not have the fundsavailable and if the employer cannot orno longer wishes to bear the risks associ-ated with the performance mandate.Ultimately, “defined benefit plan” and“defined contribution plan” are technicalconcepts. The differences between thetwo systems should not belie the fact thatboth systems should have the same goal,i.e. appropriate retirement benefits withmanageable contributions (for bothemployer and employee).

When it comes to the issue of pension fund plans (defined benefit plan vs.defined contribution plan) there is often strong polarization: high praise forthe defined benefit plan on the one hand versus an end to the defined contri-bution plan on the other. Quite simply this comes down to the question ofwhether the benefits should define the contributions or vice versa.

Pension fund – defined benefit plan vs. defined contribution plan

What to expect in your retirement

The main differences between the two plans are outlined below

Defined benefit plan Defined contribution plan

How the two plans work

Transparency

Clarity of financing

Missing contribution years

With the defined benefit plan, the defined benefits determine thecontributions to be paid. The retirement benefit is defined in termsof a fixed percentage of the insured salary. Financing is generallybased on the collective equivalence principle (with solidarities).

The termination benefit is equal to the cash value of the accruedpension.

With the defined benefit plan, the retirement benefits are defined asa percentage of the final pensionable salary (pension percentage).For example, at Novartis’ pension fund, the percentage is 60% aftercontributing for 40 years.

Capital accumulation lacks transparency (particularly for missingcontribution years).

Unclear: Insured individual’s contributions are predefined, while company/pension fund contributions are variable.

Financing obligation for the company/pension fund is high due tosalary increases; fixed return with technical interest rates.

Missing contribution years result in benefits being cut and the ben-efit target not being reached. In principle, voluntary, tax-exemptbenefits may be purchased at any time.

With the defined contribution plan, the retirement benefits are deter-mined by the (predefined) contributions. The retirement benefits arederived from the accumulated savings capital or pension reserve.Financing is generally based on the individual equivalence principle(without solidarities).

The termination benefit is equal to the accrued retirement capital.

The retirement benefit is derived from the accumulated capital uponretirement (contributions from the employer and employee, incl. inter-est), multiplied by the relevant conversion rate. This factor is definedbased on statistical life expectancy among other things, which is recal-culated at certain intervals.

Example: The insured individual has retirement savings of CHF100,000 upon retirement. The conversion rate is 6.4%. 100,000 x6.4% = CHF 6,400 annual pension.

Capital accumulation is transparent (similar to a savings account).

Clear: Contributions for both insured individual and company are pre-defined; no difficult-to-calculate, additional financing obligations forthe company/pension fund; flexible return possible according toamounts accrued.

Missing contribution years do not result in any visible reductions inbenefits, they do however mean there is less savings capital and there-fore a smaller annual pension.

In principle, voluntary, tax-exempt benefits may also be purchased atany time.

info September 200934

Defined benefit plan Defined contribution plan

Salary increases

Flexibility

Solidarity

Investment risks and opportunities

Return

Underfunding procedure

To ensure that the estimated pension can be adjusted for a salaryincrease, the extra costs must be financed through additional pay-ments, from which careers with steep salary curves stand to benefitthe most.

Minimal flexibility: Changes to the insurance cover (life expectancy, risk component)require complex adjustments; fixed technical interest rates compli-cate the necessary adjustments.Limited individual choice and scope for defining the structure of theplan.

Solidarity of financing is high, but it is also under a lot of “strain” inplaces (high salaries, above-average salary increases, young/old, etc.).

Investment risks and opportunities for the pension fund andemployer.Insured person benefits only indirectly from investment perfor-mance.

Net interest income is used for overall financing and is added to thefree assets pot.

Because of the fixed technical interest rates, remediation is only pos-sible through drastic measures, such as increasing contributionsand/or reducing benefits.

No obligation to make additional payments, but there may be oppor-tunities to purchase additional benefits. Careers with steady salarydevelopment are less disadvantaged than careers with steep salarycurves.

High flexibility: Easy to adjust to take into account an increased life expectancy usingthe conversion rate; adjusting the risk contributions is simple; flexiblereturn on retirement savings according to amounts accrued.

Numerous possibilities for customized retirement planning.

Low solidarity.

Investment risks and opportunities sometimes exist for the insured per-son too.Insured individuals benefit from good investment performance and aremore directly affected by negative market fluctuations.Individuals have the opportunity to select the investment strategy,which allows customized “positioning.”

Return on vested benefit capital depends on net yield.

More flexible returns open up additional possibilities for effectiveremedial action.

The question of which plan is “better”cannot be answered definitively becausethe two models are structured in very dif-ferent ways and are based on differingfinancing principles. Regardless of thesedifferences, it should be noted that thedefined benefit plan and defined contri-

bution plan are equally “expensive” forthe same benefits.

The following everyday example aims toillustrate this point:If I want the miller to half fill my sack withflour, he needs to give me 10 handfuls of

flour. If my friend goes to the same millerand asks for 10 handfuls of flour in anidentical sack, he’ll say that the sack ishalf empty.

Provided we don’t lose any flour on theway home and the mice don’t nibble anyholes in our sacks, my friend and I canmake the same amount of dough withthe flour. What kind of cakes we end upmaking with the flour, how many wemake and how we distribute them ulti-mately depends on the ingredients, thedish and the heat of the oven and notleast on how hungry we are.

The crucial factor is therefore the regu-lations of each pension fund, regardlessof whether you have a defined benefitplan or defined contribution plan. Thesecontain the details which determine thebenefits paid by the pension fund andtherefore their acceptance.

Henriette Brunner

Eva Trächslin

Pension fund trustees




The basic agreement betweenNAV and Novartis is the corner-stone here. To enable the wholerange of social policy issues to

be dealt with competently at all times,the NAV executive must examine all therelevant issues intensively on an ongoingbasis and attend constant further train-ing. Here NAV is supported by the“Angestellte Schweiz” (Swiss Employees)Federation. The branch conference of theChemical/Pharmaceutical Division of“Angestellte Schweiz”, which providesan opportunity for an exchange of viewsbetween the executives of various in-house associations of companies in thenorth-west Switzerland region is also veryimportant for NAV as a benchmark.

Services such as labor law and multi-legal protection can be offered at lowercost because of the size of the“Angestellte Schweiz” Federation thanNAV could do on its own with its smallernumber of members.

From 2010, all NAV members will havean opportunity via the “AngestellteSchweiz” Federation to benefit from pre-mium rebates for supplementary insur-ance cover with various health insuranceschemes.

The branch conference working withthe “Angestellte Schweiz” Federation hasset up a further training network special-ly designed for the chemical/pharmaceu-tical branch. From the autumn of 2009this will be mainly offering courses tosupplement the broad range alreadyavailable from Novartis. These courses areindispensable for members of NAV.However, the number of places is limitedand enrolment is possible only via the“Angestellte Schweiz” Federation Web

A strong employees’ association is vital to represent staff professionally.Strong associations are needed to engage in effective negotiations on behalf of staff in the social partnership. NAV is determined to remain a well-qualified social partner in future.

NAV annual theme 2009 – Social partnership Part 2

Why we need a strong house association

site www.angestellte.ch – EmployeesAcademy – Chemical/Pharmaceutical fur-ther training network.

The following courses are available:1. A fit head – and a strong mind –

Fundamental Seminar and ExtensionSeminar

2. Presence and presentations3. Effective and relaxed4. Your personality as a decisive success

factor5. Flow instead of burnout

With the “Angestellte Schweiz” Feder-ation, NAV is always interested in opti-mizing and extending services for itsmembers. But this comes at a price. Weare therefore obliged to increase themembership contribution for activeemployees to CHF 130 from 2010 and for pensioners to CHF 60. Although thismight seem a lot at first sight, rememberwhat else you can buy for CHF 11 amonth. For example in Basel you cannoteven drink three cups of coffee for thatprice any longer!

NAV sets great store by truly lookingafter and defending its members’ inter-ests. We would like to take stock of thesituation once again through a survey.

Please return the questionnaire to ourBusiness Office by 1 November 2009.Internal: NAV, WRO-1225.P.or: Novartis Angestelltenverband NAVMembers Survey, Postfach, 4002 Basel

We will of course also accept your an-swers and suggestions electronically ifyou complete the questionnaire and sendit by e-mail to [email protected].

The NAV Executive hopes that exten-sive use will be made of this offer, soenabling it to design expert and topicalservices in future.

If you have further questions, pleasecontact the NAV Business Office:Tel.: +41 61/697 39 00Fax: +41 61/697 76 73E-mail: [email protected]

Opening hours: Monday to Thursday: 10 a.m. to 4p.m.


SurveyWhy am I a member of NAV? What do I expect the Employees Association to provide?

I expect NAV to work for staff in the following areas:Pay negotiationsSocial plan negotiations

I am interested inInformationinfo periodical very important

importantneutralless importantunimportant

Web site very importantimportantneutralless importantunimportant

Newsletter very importantimportantneutralless importantunimportant

ServicesLegal protection (multi- very importantlegal protection for importantemployment matters) neutral

less importantunimportant

Rebates in general very importantimportantneutralless importantunimportant

I also believe it is important for NAV to have a good external network in order to be able to deploy the experience of othercomparable employees’ associations in Switzerland on behalf of staff interests (benchmarking).

very important important neutralless important unimportant

I am also interested in the following issues:

General Meeting of very importantMembers important

neutralless importantunimportant

Platform discussions or very importantlunchtime conversations importanton particular topics neutral

less importantunimportant

Further training very importantopportunities important

neutralless importantunimportant

Pension fundSupport and advice on problems in the working environment



The case is centered around 1. Tax exemption on a notional employer

contribution of 50% to health insur-ance

2. Tax exemption on the “voluntary” employer contribution to the pensionfund

Thanks to the support of the NAV andthe AVR, a change in the law has beenachieved with regard to the second point,and as a result a tax saving of up to CHF3180, or EUR 2160 euros, per year for theyears 2002–2004. Unfortunately, howev-er, this saving was revoked again whenthe Retirement Income Act was passedon January 1, 2005.

Taxation in SwitzerlandBy definition, cross-border commutersreside outside Switzerland and are there-fore liable to tax in their home country. It is however possible to be taxed inSwitzerland if the employee does notreturn to his/her home country on at least60 days (and therefore no longer qualifiesfor cross-border commuter status). In

accordance with Art. 15 Para 1 of theDouble Taxation Agreement withSwitzerland (DBA), Switzerland has theright to tax income from employed workthat is performed in Switzerland. Butwhat is not clear is where the days onwhich work is performed not inSwitzerland but in Germany or in a thirdcountry will be taxed, and it is in disputeas to whether the minimum number ofwork-related non-return days will be rec-ognized and/or reached as the basis forproportional taxation of salaried incomein Switzerland in the event of businesstrips to Germany. From January 1, 2009,in accordance with the mutualagreement of September 30,2008, the classification of“managerial employee”pursuant to Art. 15 Para 4DBA must only beapplied to people whosepower of attorney orwhose function listed inthe DBA is entered inthe commercial regis-ter. A case on this sub-ject is pending with theFederal Tax Court (Az. IR 46/08).

Direct insuranceNovartis offers cross-border commuters theoption of underwriting adirect insurance policy.This means that, in addi-

tion to the Riester pension in accordancewith § 10a EStG (Income Tax Act) and the Rürup pension in accordance with §52 EStG, they also have access to thethird tier of government aid, direct insur-ance in accordance with § 3 No. 63 EStG.This type of investment (max. investmentamount EUR 4392 in 2009) is the mostflexible, as it provides complete access tothe capital on retirement.

With the Riester pension, it is only pos-sible to access 30% of the capital, andthe remaining 70% must be annuitized.

With the Rürup pension, capitalizationis not possible – only annuitization.

Direct insurance for cross-border com-muters offers tax benefits, but it is notfully comparable with the policy foremployees in Germany, because cross-border commuters have already paidsocial security on their contributions andmay have to pay more social benefits inaddition to income tax on subsequent

For some years now, the Novartis Employee Association (NAV) and the RocheEmployee Association (AVR) have been providing financial support for a testcase relating to tax problems faced by cross-border commuters resident inGermany. Each association bears 50% of the legal costs of taking the case toall authorities.

Support for specific problems faced by cross-border commuters

Tax problems for cross-border commuters to Switzerland who areresident in Germany

All information in this articlehas been compiled to thebest of the authors’ know-ledge but is without gua-

rantee. No liability is accepted forany consequences of its use.

NAV, working for you


earnings. Paid-in contributions reduce thefull amount of gross taxable income forcross-border commuters.

We cannot make a general statementabout which of the three investmenttypes is the best, as it depends on indi-vidual circumstances. However, we dorecommend seeking advice on all three“tax paragraphs” in order to be able tomake an informed decision.

Health insuranceSince the bilateral agreements came intoeffect in 2002, cross-border commutersmust decide whether they want to takeout health insurance in Switzerland orwhether they want to seek exemptionfrom the health insurance obligation inSwitzerland and continue to be insuredin Germany. Cross-border commuterswho have recently started work inSwitzerland should check whether itmight be cheaper for them to take outcompulsory health insurance in Switzer-land. The contributions are significantlylower than the contributions to compul-sory health insurance funds in Germany,but spouses and children have to beinsured separately. Cross-border com-muters are entitled to return to theircompulsory health insurance fund inGermany if they stop commuting acrossthe border or if they meet the criteria forexemption in Switzerland, and they maybe entitled to health insurance benefitsboth in Germany (with the usual patientcard) and in Switzerland (with the usualannual deductible and excess). In addi-tion to the two options of insurance inGermany (compulsory or private) andcompulsory insurance in Switzerland,cross-border commuters do of coursealso have the choice of private healthinsurance in Switzerland in accordancewith the Insurance Contracts Act (VVG).

Tax considerations regarding healthinsurance contributionsTax assessments should be provisionalwith regard to tax exemption on anotional employer contribution of 50%to health insurance for cross-border com-muters. Despite the negative decision of the BFH on this matter for the tax years 1995 to 2000 (VI R 13/05 from December 18, 2007) and the non-accep-tance of the constitutional appeal in theFederal Constitutional Court (decision of

July 31, 2008, Az. 2 BvR 1020/08), there are other cases pending for the tax years2002 onwards. Appeals can be based onother ongoing cases at the tax court inFreiburg (Az. 3 K 48/07, 3 K 273/07).However, it is expected that the appealsregarding a change from 2010 onwardswill be rejected. In this case, in addition tothe appeal, there is also the option tomake an application to change an assess-ment in accordance with § 172 Para 1No. 2a AO. On the grounds of the uncon-stitutionality of the legal situation up until2009, as established in the decision men-tioned below, it is possible to apply forinsurance contributions, including allhealth insurance contributions paid, to betax-deductible and request that the deci-sion on that application be deferred untilthe pending case has been handled bythe Federal Constitutional Court (Az. 2BvR 2299/04).

The fundamental decision of theFederal Constitutional Court of February13, 2008 (Az. 2 BvL 1/06) forces the leg-islative body to introduce a new regula-tion as of 2010 so that all expenses thatessentially ensure a level of benefits thatcorresponds to compulsory health insur-ance are considered as special expensesfor tax purposes. Those with compulsoryor private health insurance, their spousesand their co-insured children shouldreceive equal tax treatment. As is the casefor self-employed people, this decisionshould also give cross-border commuters,who also pay 100% of their contributionswithout a contribution from their employ-er, greater scope for deducting otherinsurance expenses.

Pension contributionsIn tax declarations for 2008, payments tothe pension fund are offset against tax asspecial expenses up to 66% of a maxi-mum EUR 20,000 for single peo-ple/40,000 for married couples, once theemployer contributions have beendeducted. Additional payments are con-sidered in the same way, and there maybe even more tax benefits depending onindividual circumstances. As the contribu-tions from Novartis to the pension fundare twice as high as those of the employ-ee and only 50% of the total contribu-tions are tax-free, there is a taxable excessemployer share. There are various taxcourt cases pending against this.

It must be ensured that the tax assess-ments for cross-border commuters areissued provisionally with additional com-ments in accordance with § 165 Para 1Clause 2 Nos. 3 und 4 AO with regard tothe treatment and the amount of the tax-able employer contribution to the pen-sion fund, the limited deductibility ofinsurance expenses (§ 10 Abs. 3, 4, 4aEStG), the taxing of income from lifeannuity insurance under the terms of §22 No. 1 Clause 3 Item a/aa EStG from2005 and with regard to the non-deductible nature of contributions toannuity insurance policies as anticipatedincome-related expenses for incomeunder the terms of § 22 No. 1 Clause 3Item a EStG from 2005.

Payouts from the pension fundImmediate taxation on capital paymentsfrom the pension fund in the case ofcross-border commuters in Germany, asstipulated in the Retirement Income Actfrom 2005, can still only be avoided if thecapital is invested in a vested benefitsaccount or in a vested benefits fund thatis recognized by the Federal Constitu-tional Court. This applies in particular tonon-obligatory funds, while it was ruledin 2007 that the mandatory part of thepension fund must remain in Switzerlandas retirement capital. Transfer of the vest-ed benefits into a German basic (Rürup)annuity insurance policy as a one-offlump sum payment should be tax-neutral.However, the specific conditions shouldbe checked very carefully before takingout a policy of this kind.

Since 2005, pensions and other retire-ment income are taxed at a higher ratethan before, and in 2009, 58% of thepayments are liable to tax. All efforts totax payments from pension capital fromthe savings period until the end of 2004in a different way, because most of thecontributions were made from taxedincome due to lower tax-free allowances,have so far been in vain. This is especiallytrue for payouts from vested benefits inthe event of entry into self-employmentin Germany and one-off lump sum capitalpayments on retirement, which are liableto tax in the same way, when the so-called “opt-out clause” is often used andbrings a certain amount of relief.

Tax assessments should be provisionalin accordance with § 165 Para 1 Clause 2



Nos. 3 and 4 AO with regard to the tax-ing of income from life annuities underthe terms of § 22 No. 1 Clause 3 a/aaEStG. Appeals against the treatment ofcapital payouts as pension income can bebased on the ongoing case with the taxcourt in Freiburg (Az. 3 K 2798/07). Theywill help put the case to rest.

Dr.Andreas Marzinzik NAV

Dr. Michael Pantze AVR



post office and take the trail (Chräiegg-Rundweg) towards Schönthal Monasterywhich you will reach in 30 minutes. If youhave your own means of transport, takeYou reach the village on the

Obere Hauenstein pass via Lies-tal and Waldenburg. Here youalight from the ÖV bus at the

Today, we are taking you on a stroll along the southern edge of our Regio Basiliensis up into the wonderful Jura mountains close to the formerLangenbruck high altitude spa.

the branch road for Schönthal/Bölchen inthe middle of the village. Past Oskar Bider-Baracke (museum of Swiss air pioneer),after driving for another 5 minutes youcome upon Schönthal Monastery set in aquiet wooded valley surrounded by thehigh fruit trees which are such a typicalfeature of this area.

The very first encounter with thismonastery reveals its unique character.

Things to see in Basel, Regio and Interregio – 12th contribution from Baselland Canton, Switzerland

Schönthal Monastery – where history,art and nature join up


The Romanesque western façade fea-tures a half-timbered structure, friezesand ornate decorative figures, a mainportal with leaf decoration and an“Agnus Dei” representation surmountedby a round window with a knight andlion at the base and a figure at the apexsymbolizing the fight between good andevil. This façade is unrivalled in BasellandCanton and is a fine example of theUpper Rhenish style.

As was usual in the high middle ages,a monastery was founded by a noblefamily at this strategically important pass.In 1145, the Counts of Froburg beganconstruction work and the inaugurationin 1187 is mentioned in the chronicles.

After the Reformation, the entiredomain was sold to Basel Civic Hospitaland went on to be used for temporal pur-poses. In the 19th century, a family fromBasel acquired the whole estate andtreated it with loving care down the gen-erations until it was finally placed untilcantonal protection in 1966.

In the annexes to the main building,you will find a smoking kitchen and agothic wooden ceiling (the monasteryrefectory), hotel rooms (guest house), thehistorical monastery and kitchen gardenand a multifunctional exhibition room(formerly the monastery church).

That brings us to the no less excitingpresent day. Since the turn of the millen-nium, John Schmid has put into effect hisbrilliant if somewhat mad idea: in thiswonderful Jura landscape he has laid outa park with contemporary works of sculp-ture. Here, Dear Reader, you can exploreyour own world of art and experience thissculpture park in an altogether originalway. You are advised to start your tour inthe monastery courtyard. Here you canalso borrow rubber boots in wet weather.You will be handed a site plan and otherliterature to find your way around (openFriday to Sunday every week). For thecostly maintenance of this art park, visi-tors are asked to pay their own contribu-tion (CHF 10 per person/CHF 20 for fam-ilies).

My own personal favorites are“Minotaur” (by N. Hicks), “Soglio”(N.Hall), “Recovered Memory” (N.Hicks),“Twisted Oak” (D.Nash) and “Spring”(N.Hall), as well as the very latest installa-tion in the upper Feldscheure in the valleyleading to Bölchen on your right; the

prospect from here over the entireSchönthal Valley is grandiose. The con-temporary “Frames” also call attention tounexpected and interesting aspects(www.schoenthal.ch)!

On no account miss a visit to KäthisLädeli (by the Bölchen highway), whichmust surely be the smallest “Straussi”café in the whole region serving the verybest “Baselbieter Rahmdääfeli”. How youcould resist…?

If you have come “on foot”, it is nowhigh time to set out fully refreshed on the45 minutes walk back to Langenbruck(this time by the Römerweg which startsnear the car park). Excursionists on twoor four wheels can complete their day bygoing up to Oberbölchen and enjoyingthe sunset from the very roof of BasellandCanton before setting out on the journeyback home.

Henriette Brunner

NAV Chairperson



On the first day we met upunder a cloudy sky and en-joyed a small part of the gas-tronomic diversity of the

locality with very friendly and helpful ser-vice. The noise level caused by the stonefloor coverings and the large number ofvisitors only diminished our pleasureslightly. Even if the beverages look andtaste rather exotic the service team didnot tire of giving us information about allaspects of the new restaurant. Wenoticed that guests can pay easily withtheir card and that environmental aware-ness is fully respected here, as separatePET disposal facilities are provided.

After the first impression had turnedout to be a nice surprise, we were natural-ly excited to see what our tour of culinarydiscovery would bring on the second day.This time we sought out the canteenwhich has been set up almost “under-ground.” Because of some difficulties inmaking ourselves understood in German,a number of questions about the menuhad to be repeated, but the answers werealways friendly. As the meals which weordered were already just about at bodytemperature, we were obliged to gulp ourlunch down quickly. Although the disheshad certainly been deliciously prepared,the temperature at which they wereserved unfortunately made the pleasure ofour palate somewhat less than it wouldotherwise have been. We also noticed thatthe high and bright rooms automaticallyincrease the noise level which is amplifiedby background music. Apart from smallertables (seating 2 or 4 persons), the dining

room is rather reminiscent of a festive ban-quet at a big social event. On the otherhand we appreciated the fact that you canpay here with your card, although unfor-tunately there was no PET bottle disposalunit of the kind installed in the restaurantwe had visited on the previous day.

We then moved on to a venerableestablishment and were able to note thatthe staff were once again always friendlyand endeavored to make sure that anample supply of their creative specialitieswas always available. We were givencomprehensive and eager answers toquestions about the origin, preparationand ingredients used in the dishes. For us,the overall impression was spoiled only by the fact that the tomatoes had been

As the campus on the St. Johann plant site is constantly changing and newrestaurants are being opened from time to time, two members of the infoeditorial team set out to visit the different catering facilities during the summer months. Sabine Zeller and Roland Hirt collected their impressions,experienced culinary surprises and noted them down. Please remember: thisreport is not intended to provide an objective commentary, but must beunderstood as a strictly personal point of view.

Choice of restaurants on the St. Johann works site

A culinary excursion through the campus


cut up with a mincer. This “chopped”impression unfortunately impairs the bigselection of vegetarian dishes which wereattractively presented and are a culinarydelight. As the coffee corner was nearby,we, the culinary tourists, moved on totake a refreshing beverage and dessert.The choice of patisserie and cakes willsurely make every gourmet’s heart beatfaster. Once again this experience broughtus more pleasure for the palate.

On the fourth day we intended to testout the Italian cuisine served up here andset out cheerfully for the gourmet restau-rant. We were immediately struck by thevery friendly and attentive service whichremains in complete control even whenthe service becomes hectic. We were wel-comed personally by the lady chef andaccompanied to the table of our choiceby attentive personnel. The gastronomicaccomplishment which we encounteredhere was the very finest Italian cuisine!The fresh products and their preparationmet with our complete approval as ama-teur restaurant critics. We willinglyaccepted the rather long waiting time of20 minutes for this pleasure to materialize.The design of the premises also meetsevery possible wish: stylishly laid out andwith most attractive black and white pho-tos to decorate the walls. The table layoutalso makes for conversations without anydisturbing side effects. Unfortunatelytime flew by far too quickly! We wereboth surprised to find that nearly 1.5hours had passed and it was high time toreturn to work. So with a heavy heart wehad to leave this dream of culinary expe-rience and return to reality. No easy ven-ture…

On the last day of our ambitious culi-nary tour we opted for something rathersmaller this time to still our hunger aftera strenuous morning’s work. For that pur-pose we again turned our steps towardsthe futuristic building which features afast food corner on the ground floor rightnext to the restaurant. As had alreadybeen the case on our first visit to the bigrestaurant we once again found friendlyservice here with the added benefit of acook who prepared what we wantedstraight away. This is certainly high-classfast food (with a wide choice of nuggets,fries, bagels, burgers, hot dogs and sal-ads) which bears favorable comparisonwith some well-known establishments.

The premises are simple yet stylish. Thefurniture is minimalist but the chairs areergonomically designed and very com-fortable to sit on. As in the case of manyother new restaurants on the campus,here too we noticed that no beveragesare served on draft. On the other hand,the guest can once again use the card asa convenient means of payment for themeal.

After we had eaten our fill, the tourended with fine coffee and cakes and wewere able to summarize our impressionsbriefly in our well-fed state of mindbefore the last afternoon of work await-ed us and a well-merited weekend forrecuperation (and fasting).

Roland Hirt and Sabine Zeller

NAV Executive

ConclusionEven if the two testers had visiblyput on extra weight after this culina-ry tour, the whole action was cer-tainly worthwhile. With its range ofrestaurants, the campus clearly hassomething to offer for every taste.So it remains for us to say ENJOYYOUR MEAL!



Joining NAV

I would like to join NAV I would like to play an active role in NAV

Address Personnel No. Date of birth

Surname First name

Site Tel. No.

Home address Post code/Place

I was recruited by

Surname First name

Site Tel. No.

Please fill out the application, sign and send to the NAV Secretariat, WRO-1225 P, or fax to 061 697 76 73

Our campaign continues. Many participants have already won anattractive prize. By recruiting just one new member you too willtake part in the next prize draw.

Annual subscription: Fr. 100.–

Members advertise for members

Management members

can also be represented

by NAV

1st half-yearly draw 2009

1st prize Voucher for gasoline “Migrol” for CHF 100.–Gross Stefan, WSJ-103.2.25.6

2nd prize 2 tickets for the zoo BaselHaas Christine, WSJ-503.1.50.2

3rd prize WWF book “Bewegung”Niederberger Benny, WSH-2060


External Networks

The Committee of the BaselRegional Employees’ Association(ARB) – of which two NAVrepresentatives are also mem-

bers – decided on this survey lastDecember. This is not just about percent-age rates, it is also about understandingthe systems.

Salary development satisfactory –more general than individual salaryincreasesThirteen larger firms in the region and thecanton of Baselland participated in theevaluation of the salary survey. Despitethe economic crisis which has suddenlyhit the Swiss economy hard, salaries inthe region have developed favorably.Apart from two companies (pay freeze),the increases stand at 1.5–3.84%. So onecannot talk in terms of a crisis when itcomes to salary increases. It is interestingto note that these results are in line withthe estimates of the Swiss Federal StatisticsOffice. 2.6% is the salary increase for thelarger collective bargaining agreements.General salary increases are back invogue.

How is the total payroll sum distrib-uted? A major portion (1%–3%) was dis-tributed generally and only the smallerportion individually (0.8–1.8%). This put astop to the regional practice of only distrib-uting salary increases on an individualbasis. The Swiss Federal Statistics Officediscovered that in 2004, only 51% of sala-ry increases was distributed generally; thisfigure was as high as 72% again in 2009.

arb – Salary survey Basel region

Satisfactory salary development in the Basel region

cantly better off and employers don’t feelthey are having to pay considerably more.

Employee representatives/manage-ment negotiate salary increases withemployerIn larger firms, salary increases are nego-tiated with employee representatives(with management too in some firms).Four out of thirteen firms negotiate sala-ry increases with management and ninewith employee representatives. Weexpect to examine this issue in greaterdepth next year, in order to find outwhether employers provide employeerepresentatives with a proposal, whichthey accept (or have to accept) withoutamendments, or whether real negotia-tions are possible. No doubt both confi-gurations exist.

We will endeavor to approach morefirms in 2010 in order to expand ourdatabase. We must also formulate newquestions so as to better assess the salaryand remuneration systems. The feedbackfrom HR departments has been gratify-ing, which just goes to show thatemployers too, have faith in the work ofthe ARB.

PS: Novartis took part in the salarysurvey too. Thanks!

Dr. Hans Furer, Managing Director ARB

www.arb-basel.ch

Bonus has become a fixture – no insurance under the pension fund With two exceptions (canton of Basel-land and one company), all companiesdistribute a bonus. However, only threecompanies insure it under their pensionscheme. In the case of one company, onlymanagement is insured. Bonuses will prob-ably tend to be in line with previous gra-tuity levels. This also becomes apparentwhen calculating the proportion account-ed for by the bonus. It equates to 2.5%of the total payroll sum up to the extremevalue of 65% (probably an isolated case).However, the average bonus accounts foraround 5.5% of the total payroll sum,which probably corresponds to slightlymore than half a month’s salary.

No more benefits in 2009One company introduced two extra vaca-tion days, and one company decided tointroduce a TNW job ticket. Employersdid not grant their employees any furtherbenefits.

Rise in cost of child allowances hasno impact on salariesAhead of the vote on the Family Allow-ances Act, it was argued that the highercontributions associated with the in-creased allowances must be passed on, ormight even become unaffordable foremployers. No firm told us that they tookthe increase in family allowances and/orpremiums into consideration whenincreasing salaries. As such, employeeswith maintenance obligations are signifi-

Salaries are still a matter for discretion, and rightly so. That said, transparencyhas increased in recent years, due not least to the bilateral agreements. Thereare various salary calculators, for example (e.g. www.lohnrechner.ch.). Whatis interesting to note in the Basel region is how larger companies in varioussectors have increased salaries, and what kind of model they based thesesalary increases on.

info 3/09 english

Documents

Transcript of info 3/09 english