Swiss unions call for shorter days for construction workers

Trade unions: shorter days for construction workers Keystone-SDA

Construction workers need shorter days, say Swiss trade unions. They are demanding an improvement in working conditions, which they say are currently incompatible with family life. Demonstrations are planned in Zurich and Lausanne on May 17.

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“Family life suffers from long working days,” Unia and Syna said in a statement on Monday. The two trade unions point out that in the last ten years “a lot more has been built with fewer builders”.

As a result, working hours are getting longer and the risk of accidents is increasing, they say. According to the trade unions, a shortage of construction workers is looming in Switzerland: by the end of 2040, one in three bricklayers will no longer be available.

Unia and Syna are calling on employers to limit working days to eight hours, to compensate for the morning break and to pay for travel time in full. Saturday work must also be reduced and wages increased.

+ Swiss construction workers negotiate pay rise

The unions are therefore calling on the industry to demonstrate on May 17 in Lausanne and Zurich.

Translated from Italian by DeepL/ts

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