Geneva city staff go on strike
Geneva city workers go on strike on Thursday. They want to defend themselves against “savings on the back of the staff”. Their wages are not supposed to be adjusted upwards in 2022.
the essentials in brief
- The unions announced on Monday that they had not received satisfactory answers to their demands from the city administration.
They denounced the blocking of urgent files, the poor willingness of the city council and the numerous attempts to worsen working conditions.
“The measure is full”, write the trade unions SIT (syndicat interprofessionnel de travailleuses et travailleurs) and VPOD Geneva in a communiqué. The stumbling block is the blocking of the wage mechanisms in the draft budget for 2022. The wage increases according to years of service, the progressive 13th month wage and seniority allowances are to be suspended. These measures meant savings of 6 million francs “on the back of the staff”.
Less than a month ago, the Geneva city government presented a red budget again for the coming year. She expects a deficit of 40.8 million francs.
The unions are also calling for early retirement for heavy work to be introduced quickly. Negotiations on this topic had already started in 2012. Nine years later, however, there is still no solution on the table. In addition, there is now the possibility that community employees can reduce their working hours from the age of 57.
The unions are fighting against the city administration’s plans to postpone this right for two years. They are also calling for negotiations on a regulation on home offices.
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