Vaud civil servants continue strike action

Vaud civil service: another day of strike action Keystone-SDA

Vaud civil servants went on strike again on Thursday to protest against the 2026 budget and the CHF305 million of savings measures that are planned. It was the seventh day of protest action since October. Protests will continue on Friday with strike action that can be extended.

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On Thursday evening, Vaud civil servants voted almost unanimously in favour of a new resolution calling for the continuation of the movement, mobilisation and strike action from Friday and next week.

The resolution speaks of an “endless strike”. The unions are calling for a special day of strikes on Tuesday, punctuated by another “major demonstration” in the form of a procession through the streets of Lausanne. A further meeting will decide on the continuation of the strike next Wednesday. Finally, the text also urges the members of the Vaud parliament to reject the proposed 2026 budget and the related decrees “which do not respect the trade union demands”.

Under the slogan “Against austerity, we won’t give up”, the unions had called on all civil servants to go on a “total strike” to protest against the government’s budget cuts. Many workplaces had decided to strike, notably schools and universities, as well as health and social services.

“It’s hard to say whether the number of strikers has increased, but this is already the fourth day of the strike and the mobilisation remains very strong,” said Cora Antonioli, president of the SSP-Vaud union, which is organising the mobilisation with the SUD and FSF unions, told Keystone-ATS. “However, we can see that the number of places mobilised is expanding to include new sectors on strike”.

Schools: ‘strong mobilisation’

On Thursday, strike action was again most widespread in schools. The Vaud Department of Education and Vocational Training (DEF) observed “strong mobilisation in the canton’s various educational establishments”. “In compulsory education, it is estimated that more than a third of Vaud state employees went on strike today,” it said.

“Situations can vary greatly from one establishment to another. In some establishments or sites, no classes were taught as usual, while in other places or schools, the day proceeded normally or almost normally,” it said.

“In all cases where lessons could not take place normally, pupils were welcomed at school depending on the parents’ decision whether or not to keep them at home. Families were informed of each situation in writing,” it added.

University building blocked

At the University of Lausanne (UNIL), for example, some employees and students also took action, going on strike and blocking the Anthropole and Géopolis buildings from 7am.

After five demonstrations in the streets of Lausanne since October 2, including two this week in front of the Vaud parliament building, where parliamentarians are debating the 2026 state budget, no demonstrations had been scheduled for late Thursday, in parallel with this fourth day of strike action.

‘Engaging in dialogue’

The three public service unions, SSP, FSF and Sud, continue to criticise the government for “its policy of (non-)communication” and “its unwillingness to negotiate”. They also criticise the government for “trying to make the Vaud parliament bear all the responsibility for its political choices”.

The unions have called on the government to “engage in serious dialogue without delay, which is the only way to calm the situation and respond to the legitimate concerns expressed”.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, the government repeated to the parliament that it had not refused to engage in dialogue, contrary to the unions’ claims. President Christelle Luisier referred in particular to two discussion sessions and pointed out that, in her view, it was the unions that had “refused to discuss the matter”.

On September 24, the government presented its draft 2026 budget, which envisages a deficit of CHF331 million and CHF305 million in savings measures. The latter include cuts of CHF165 million in subsidies.

State employees will also be directly affected, with a “crisis contribution” of 0.7% of gross salaries in 2026 for salary grades 6 to 18. This measure, like all the others, is opposed by the unions.

Adapted from German by AI/sb

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