Construction workers go on strike in French-speaking Switzerland
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Construction workers go on strike in French-speaking Switzerland
Construction workers' strikes took place in French-speaking Switzerland on Monday, after the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino and Bern in recent weeks. According to the unions Syna and Unia, close to 7,000 people demonstrated in Geneva, Lausanne, Fribourg and La Chaux-de-Fonds.
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The national workers’ umbrella contract is due to expire at the end of 2025, and discussions with the Swiss Society of Building Contractors (SSIC) “have been ongoing for months, but a solution is not yet in sight,” the two unions said in a joint statement.
The workers’ demands include remuneration for the journey between company headquarters and the construction site, shorter working hours appropriate to family life, a paid break in the morning, higher wages, and wage adjustments for inflation.
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According to the unions, the current working conditions are no longer sustainable, nor are the SSIC proposals for “longer working days for lower wages”.
In Geneva, demonstrators briefly blocked the Mont Blanc bridge. In the canton of Fribourg, the protests were concentrated near the headquarters of the Fribourg Society of Building Contractors in Courtepin, while in Lausanne and La Chaux-de-Fonds workers marched through the streets of the city centre.
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A second day of strike action is scheduled for tomorrow in Lausanne, with a rally at Place de la Navigation, from where a procession will start at 1.30 pm.
The protests will then continue on November 7 in north-western Switzerland, while on November 14 it will be the turn of Zurich and other regions in German-speaking Switzerland.
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Translated from Italian with DeepL/gw
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