2018 site representative elections: And the winner is ...

«And the winner is …» as they always used to say at the Oscar ceremonies. At the end of November, the members of the Roche Employees Association (AVR) elected their new site representatives and retiree representative.

The average turnout was around 38 percent, which is four percent higher than in the last elections two years ago. «We're hoping to see even higher turnouts in the future now that we’ve gone over to electronic voting», said AVR President Adnan Tanglay. The number of seats increased to 15 this year, since there are now four Board members from Kaiseraugst instead of the previous two. «This is to take account of the site’s ongoing growth», Tanglay explained. Furthermore, to ensure that the AVR addresses issues that arise at Reinach (Basel-Landschaft) too, a Board member was elected for this site for the first time.

Ten current site representatives and twenty new candidates were on the ballot paper this year, i.e. four more new faces than in 2016 plus the same number of existing representatives. Three current site representatives opted not to stand for re-election. People at Kaiseraugst seemed particularly keen to get involved in the work of the AVR Board, with no fewer than six new candidates standing alongside the two existing representatives to contest the four seats that were up for grabs. Since only one candidate stood for election at both Schlieren (as in 2016) and Reinach, each was automatically elected.

All candidates cited a desire to work on behalf of Roche employees – especially on salary negotiations, in working groups or providing support during restructuring programmes – as their primary motivation for standing. Several also expressed a wish to get involved with such issues as work-life balance, overcoming cultural differences or addressing the needs of cross-border commuters.

All current site representatives were re-elected. «I’m delighted that we will still have such a wealth of experience on the Board», said Tanglay. Two new faces were elected at both Basel and Kaiseraugst.

This year was the first time electronic voting has been used for the site representative elections. «It was fast and everything worked without a hitch», the AVR President told us. In his view, the new system provides a sound basis for future elections. This time postal voting was only available to retirees.

«The AVR would like to congratulate all those elected and thank everyone who took part in the elections», concluded Tanglay. However, the new site representatives had very little time to rest on their laurels; their first Board meeting took place in Kaiseraugst on 10 December.

ELECTION RESULTS 2019/2020

Site Representatives for Basel

Site Representatives for Kaiseraugst

Site Representatives for Reinach (Roche Pharma Switzerland)

Site Representatives for Schlieren (pRED Innovation Center Zurich)

Retiree Representative