ThoseElectoral campaign in Valais –UDC Jean-Luc Addor has a good chance of taking the head of a union
Two Valais national advisers are candidates for the management of the Garanto customs union. The elected UDC is a favorite in relation to the socialist. His election would be a small earthquake.
Posted: 01.05.2025, 4:00 p.m.
He wants to become a union boss: UDC national councilor Jean-Luc Addor in the office of his lawyer study in Sion.
Madeleine Stair
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- The customs union Garanto is preparing to experience a historic presidential election with two candidates.
- UDC national councilor Jean-Luc Addor wishes to be the first right-wing politician to direct a union.
- PS national councilor Emmanuel Amoos is seeking the post as an experienced unionist.
- The transformation of the Federal Customs Office arouses staff concern.
In the office of Jean-Luc Addornear Sion station, nothing recalls the class struggle. The coat of arms of the Addor family accompany a disc of disc, framed, Rammstein and a gourd from the combination of firearms Protell. Not really the image we have of the office of a trade unionist. “I do not see why the left should have a monopoly on the defense of the interests of ad vitam æternam customs employees,” smiles our interlocutor.
Valais national councilor is seeking the presidency of Garanto. If it is elected, it will be the first time that a UDC has taken the lead in a representation of the workers. With its 2,500 members, the union constitutes the largest association of personnel in the Federal Customs Administration (AFD). The organization is part of the Swiss union union, traditionally in the hands of the left. The former heavy point of PS Christian Levrat presided over it between 2020 and 2021, after leaving the Federal Parliament.
“I belong to the social wing of the UDC”
Jean-Luc Addor is part of the right wing of the UDC. He sympathizes with the theory of remigration, which requires the complete dismissal of people from immigration and which is propagated by the new right. In 2022, he participated in a meeting in Martigny (VS) for Eric Zemmour, then far -right candidate for the French presidential election. In 2020, he was convicted of racial discrimination.
“Those who reduce my political background to remigration and a court decision did not understand much. Within the UDC, I belong to the social wing ”, wishes to underline Jean-Luc Addor, who was favorable for The 13th AVS rent and opposite to LPP reformthus being at the outdoor with official opinion party On both projects.
For the time being, the candidacy of the UDC national councilor has not yet sent a shock wave on the left. Jean-Luc Addor thinks that: “As a union leader, I could break some things on the political level and seek support for workers’ claims in my party. Whoever, like the UDC, wants to strengthen border protection also needs enough staff with good working conditions, everything else is hypocritical. ”
At the Swiss union union, we do not want to express themselves on the candidacy of the elected UDC, it is an “internal affair” of Garanto. However, there are voices on the left who think, like Valaisan, that a representative of the UDC could be a lever to forge left-right alliances on certain questions. His age, however, is a weak point. At 61, he already made his third legislature in Bern.
The second candidate is on the left and also comes from Valais
PS national councilor Emmanuel Amoos does not think that a president of the UDC offers strategic advantages to the union.
Madeleine Stair
Emmanuel Amoos is smiling. The socialist national advisor sits in a pizzeria a few meters from his workplace. Valaisan also targets the presidency. He decided late to introduce himself, he explains, after being asked by the central committee of the union.
Emmanuel Amoos heads a company specializing in radiocommunication solutions and equipment to Sion. He has known Jean-Luc Addor for a long time. Both were group presidents in the Cantonal Parliament. He does not think that a UDC offers strategic advantages to the union. “I can create majorities in my parliamentary group to defend my positions. The UDC is synonymous with drastic savings for federal staff. I don’t think it will change, whatever the president of Garanto. “
Emmanuel Amoos would be the classic choice. He is currently head of the union of public and parapublic sectors in Valais (SSP Valais) and sits on the National Economy and Raches, which deals with customs. “I am not an antimilitarist, I did my military service and, in my profession, I have a lot to do with the security organs.”
His party card is not necessarily an advantage for the future election. Following conflicts on the orientation of the union, the last president, the national councilor PS Baseloise Sarah Wyss, left Garanto after only two years. According to saying, his orientation was too conciliatory for many members who wish a more conflicting line with the Confederation. It is also known that the border guards, traditionally more on the right, have a strong position within the association.
An election campaign in a tense context
The election campaign for the presidency of Garanto takes place in a period of crisis. The union has been directed for a year and a half by an interim co -president for a year and a half. Various people asked for this position have withdrawn. Added to this is the fact that the Federal Office for Customs and Border Security is in full transformation, which caused great insecurity and the anger of the staff. Christian Bock, director of the Federal Customs Administration, had to leave his post. Conflicts had also broken out with Garanto. Among other things, the Confederation has standardized the professional profiles of customs and border guards.
But the unions are also not at the end of their sorrows. Three unions are competing for the 4,000 employees of the Federal Customs and Border Safety Office. Besides Garanto and Transfer, the dissatisfied have formed another association, Frontiera. The war of the trenches threatens.
Emmanuel Amoos therefore believes that an experienced trade unionist must be able to increase the number of Garanto members and to focus on the essentials: “For me, the working conditions of employees are at the center of concerns.” Jean-Luc Addor wants to enlarge the lobby of customs employees in Bern and create a “customs” parliamentary group. But he also sees his candidacy in a broader political context: “I believe in the value of the borders. And to guarantee them, we need enough customs staff with attractive working conditions. ”
The general assembly of Garanto will decide in June and show what vision the customs employees will follow.
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