Doctors, nurses and drivers also complain

The strike, which the Swiss pilots are threatening for the end of October, is confusing in many places. After all, pilots with many years of experience earn more than 200,000 francs a year. Negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement (GAV) is not primarily about wages. But about the ability to plan. The study plan is sent on the 25th of each month. There are no fixed Fridays, even for part-time workers. Pilots may forget about Christmas, Easter or the summer holidays – after all, most people want to fly on vacation.

“If you want to deny the pilots the right to strike, it’s pure envy,” criticizes Hans Ruedi Vogel, 79, an industry insider and aviation journalist. He believes that the working conditions of pilots have deteriorated drastically in recent years. “Flight clocks are now too much to be used. On long-haul flights, the time spent at the destination has been reduced. Everything is cropped for efficiency.»

depression in the cockpit

In extreme cases, there are only ten hours between leaving the cockpit and the next shift. Working days are up to 13 hours – quickly become 14 or 15 hours if delays or bad weather are added.

“20 percent of pilots have significant symptoms of depression or anxiety,” warns Marion Venus (49). She is a psychologist and studies pilot stress, among other things. “I know many pilots, including in Switzerland, who switched to part-time work because they couldn’t take the workload any longer mentally and physically.”

The miserable working conditions in aviation affect not only the pilots but also the cabin crew. “We stand in solidarity with our colleagues in the cockpit,” says Sandrine Nikolic-Fuss, 53, president of the cabin crew union (Kapers). He doesn’t want to comment on whether pilots who earn nearly three times as much as flight attendants want to go on strike. “The situation is incomparable. But of course our salaries are very low. We have reached the lowest point in Swiss aviation history.”

People die when doctors go on strike

Aviation is no longer the only industry affected by stressful shift work: on average, every second physician works more than the 50 hours allowed per week. In addition, there are 24-hour or even 48-hour shifts or night duty services followed by normal working days. Those who have children often only see them during workdays or night shift weeks.

However, it is unthinkable to go on strike in the health sector. Because then people die. Doctors and nurses have no choice but to report as a last resort and are resorting to it more and more often. More work is left to the rest. “I can’t do almost everything that needs to be done in patient care,” an frustrated nurse tells Blick.

The drivers are behind the pilots

A look at the public transport industry also shows how tough the jobs in shift operations are. In Geneva, employees of the TPG transport company went on strike last week. SEV transport staff union secretary Susanne Oehler (49) says staff elsewhere also get on the gums. “The solidarity of drivers is seen against the threat of strike by Swiss pilots.” A separate strike is not an issue at the moment.

Syndicom syndicate recently conducted a survey about work and family compatibility with Postbus drivers. “The result was bad,” sums up Syndicom spokesperson Dominik Fitze. In addition to the many weekend shifts, long working days are the main complaints. Drivers are away from home for up to 13 hours, including breaks.

It is actually unusual that the work schedules of Swiss pilots are not fixed until the 25th. But even those who work in another industry and get their plans earlier can rarely count on it. Short-term changes in staffing are the order of the day, according to both the healthcare and public transport industries.

Annual work plans in industry

But there are also shift workers who rarely criticize their working conditions. For example, planning is much better in industry. For example, employees at the chemical and pharmaceutical company Lonza are given an annual work plan.

Police, meanwhile, are praising the fact that working hours are usually possible, provided emergency services don’t have to move unexpectedly again shortly before the end of service. The Swiss Police Officers Association VSPB does not think much about strikes. In general, we are in favor of solving disputes through negotiations or solving problems through negotiations.

This is what Switzerland and the Aeropers pilots association hope: the final round of negotiations between Swiss CEO Dieter Vranckx (49) and Aeropers President Clemens Kopetz is on the weekend schedule. If no agreement is reached, there will likely be a strike on 29 and 30 October.