On 14 June, thousands of workers around the country participated in a day of action and a national strike, demanding equal rights for women workers as well as a legal minimum wage. Various trade unions, like VPÖD-SSP and UNIA, played a leading role among the more than 45 organisations that held the event. The complaint was repeated that in Switzerland women earn on average 19.8% less than men while performing the same job, despite the gender equality article in the Constitution. The actions featured breakfasts, numerous workplace events and protests at public sites in major cities, culminating in collective whistle blowing and the release of thousands of purple balloons around the country at 14:06. Later in the day, Geneva's famous water jet fountain was coloured purpled as part of the action (See also this Collective Bargaining Newsletter Year 4 April and May 2011).
English: http://www.imfmetal.org/index.cfm?c=26776&l=2;
http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/2011/labotz140611.html
This article was published in the Collective Bargaining Newsletter. It aims to facilitate information exchange between trade unions and to support the work of ETUC's collective bargaining committee. For more information, please contact the editor Maarten van Klaveren, Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Labour Studies (AIAS) M.vanKlaveren@uva.nl. You may find further information on the ETUI at www.etui.org, and on the AIAS at www.uva-aias.net. © ETUI aisbl, Brussels 2011.