Swiss perspectives in 10 languages

Talks scheduled to end cargo strike

Swiss Federal Railways and the unions are planning talks at the weekend in a bid to end a week-long strike by workers of the company's cargo division.

The chief executive of Federal Railways said the discussions would take place on Saturday and there were no conditions attached.

The main railway workers union said they were interested in face-to-face meetings.

A week ago Federal Railways announced more than 400 job cuts at its cargo unit, prompting a public outcry particularly in the southern Ticino region.

Workers at a maintenance depot in the town of Bellinzona went on strike while staff in Fribourg has staged protests, despite an offer by management to suspend the cuts.

The government called on both sides to resolve the conflict peacefully.

Parliament is due to discuss the crisis next week, as plans are afoot to take the protests to the capital, Bern.

In compliance with the JTI standards

More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative

You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here. Please join us!

If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR