VPOD - Gewerkschaft im Service public

What VPOD - Gewerkschaft im Service public does

VPOD - Gewerkschaft im Service public (legal name: VPOD - Verband des Personals öffentlicher Dienste) is a Swiss trade union founded in 1919 and headquartered at Birmensdorferstrasse 67, 8004 Zürich. The union represents public service employees across all Swiss cantons, with member segments spanning healthcare, education, public transport, social services, childcare, and administration. VPOD operates a federated structure through 18 regional secretariats and dedicated sector subsidiaries including VPOD-NGO and VPOD Luftverkehr. The organization is affiliated with the Schweizerischer Gewerkschaftsbund (SGB), Switzerland's national trade union federation, and is governed democratically through member congresses (most recently Kongress 2023) and a Landesvorstand (national board).

VPOD's core products and services center on collective bargaining, legal representation, and professional development for members. Publications include the VPOD Magazin and the vpod bildungspolitik education policy journal (published for over 45 years), alongside branch-specific brochures covering healthcare, childcare, public transport, firefighting, and administration. Training offerings include the "Building our union!" systematic program and courses delivered via Movendo!, the educational institute of the Swiss trade unions, as well as a healthcare training cooperation with Careum. The underlying technology is conventional and open-source-leaning: ProcessWire content management, self-hosted Matomo web analytics, Leaflet/OpenStreetMap mapping, Mailchimp for newsletter distribution, and RaiseNow AG for donation and payment processing. No mobile app, proprietary platform, or API is offered.

The business model is subscription-based membership dues paid by individual workers. Specific fee tiers are not publicly disclosed. The union is organized as a Verein (association) under Swiss law and does not publish revenue; funding flows primarily from recurring annual member contributions. Marketing and member outreach are conducted through the vpod.ch website, the VPOD Magazine, email newsletters, an extensive social media presence (Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn, X, TikTok, Bluesky), and direct engagement at events, strikes, and demonstrations including feminist strike campaigns and the minimum wage referendum.

Name

VPOD - Gewerkschaft im Service public

Legal name

VPOD - Verband des Personals öffentlicher Dienste

Website

https://vpod.ch

Company type

Private

Founded year

1919

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

VPOD is a Swiss trade union founded in 1919 that represents public service employees across all Swiss cantons. It provides collective bargaining, legal representation, professional development, and advocacy to members in healthcare, education, transport, social services, childcare, and administration through 18 regional secretariats.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Zürich

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: VPOD generates revenue through annual membership fees from public sector workers. The union provides services including legal advice, representation, training courses, and collective bargaining support to its members.

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

VPOD is a Swiss trade union (Gewerkschaft) that represents public service employees across all Swiss cantons. It provides membership-based services including legal advice, workplace representation, collective bargaining support, professional development training, and advocacy on labor rights, wages, and working conditions for workers in healthcare, education, public transport, administration, childcare, and social services.

Product overview

VPOD is a Swiss trade union for public services offering union membership with associated benefits and services. The organization provides a portfolio of publications including the VPOD Magazin (magazine), vpod bildungspolitik (education policy journal), and branch-specific brochures covering healthcare, childcare, public transport, firefighting, and administration. Educational offerings include the 'Building our union!' training program for member development and Movendo!, an educational institute providing continuing education courses. The union also campaigns on issues including minimum wages, gender equality, climate crisis, and public service quality.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• VPOD Merch: Official VPOD merchandise shop for union apparel and materials

Products and services

• VPOD Magazin

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Schweizerischer Gewerkschaftsbund (SGB)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerVPOD is affiliated with the Swiss Trade Union Federation (SGB/TSS), collaborating on joint campaigns, policy advocacy, and shared goals for worker rights in Switzerland.
• CareumminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerVPOD cooperates with Careum on training and professional development courses for healthcare workers, offering continuing education opportunities for members in the healthcare sector.
• SavoirsocialminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Swiss professional organization for social professions, with whom VPOD discusses issues around internships and training in childcare and care sectors.
• Jacobs FoundationminorOthersReferenced in childcare policy discussions; foundation that researches early childhood development and childcare investment (0.1% of Swiss GDP for early childhood cited).
• GFZ (Stiftung)minorOthersZurich foundation operating multiple Kita (daycare) facilities that has implemented progressive internship regulations as mentioned by VPOD.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Travail.Suisse: Independent Swiss employees' federation covering white-collar and service workers. Broad incumbent — overlaps with VPOD on policy advocacy, training programs, and representation of public-administration employees.
• Unia: Largest Swiss trade union (~200k members) covering private and public service sectors. Broad incumbent — overlaps with VPOD across transport, healthcare, and social services, but operates at much greater scale and scope.
• Syna: Swiss trade union representing workers across services, retail, and public-adjacent sectors. Broad incumbent — overlaps with VPOD in administrative, facility, and service-worker categories.

Direct peers

• Garanto — Gewerkschaft öffentliche Dienste: A Swiss public-sector union (sub-organ of SGB) representing federal, cantonal, and communal employees. Direct peer — competes for the same public-sector worker membership in Switzerland with overlapping collective-bargaining scope.
• SBK — Schweizer Berufsverband der Pflegefachpersonen: Swiss professional association for nursing professionals. Direct peer — competes with VPOD for healthcare-worker representation and advocacy on care-quality and pay issues, particularly around the Pflegeinitiative.
• SEV — Gewerkschaft des Verkehrspersonals: Swiss union representing railway, tram, and bus workers. Direct peer in VPOD's public transportation member segment, competing for the same collective-bargaining mandates with SBB and regional transit operators.

Emerging players

• Syndicom: Swiss trade union for media, communications, and services. Emerging player — overlaps with VPOD's representation of administrative and service-sector workers, particularly in NGO and communications-adjacent roles.

Others

• Schweizerischer Gewerkschaftsbund (SGB): The Swiss Trade Union Federation to which VPOD is affiliated. SGB coordinates national policy across affiliated unions including VPOD, making it the closest umbrella-organization peer in structure and member-base overlap.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/vpodschweiz

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries18 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about VPOD - Gewerkschaft im Service public