Facts
The Foundation FAR sued [B. GmbH] and [R. GmbH] for payment of contributions for the period 2007 to 2010, as these enterprises, in its view, fall under the scope of the generally binding Collective Bargaining Agreement for Flexible Retirement in the Main Construction Industry (CBA FAR). The lower instance, the Insurance Court of the Canton of St. Gallen, dismissed the claims. The Foundation FAR then filed an appeal with the Federal Supreme Court.
The respondents are enterprises whose main activity is geothermal probe drilling. They sell, in addition to the development, planning and production of geothermal probes, their installation, with the geothermal probe drilling constituting a significant part of their work.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court concluded that the enterprises of the respondents are to be attributed to the civil engineering sector within the meaning of Art. 2 para. 4 lit. a of the Declaration of General Applicability (DGA) of the CBA FAR and are thus covered by the scope of the generally binding provisions of the CBA FAR.
The decisive factor was that the geothermal probe drilling constitutes the defining activities in the enterprises and these drillings are to be classified as civil engineering. Even if the enterprises…