“Construction workers’ strikes are illegal!”

On November 1, a thousand construction workers paralyzed 400 construction sites in northwest Switzerland. Previously, 2,500 construction workers in Ticino had hit four of the five construction sites. Next Friday, November 11, will likely be the largest strike in the country in Zurich, Bern, eastern Switzerland and central Switzerland.

The unions’ accusation: They would work for a new state contract in worse conditions in the ongoing negotiations. First of all, the increase of working hours to 58 hours per week and 12 hours per day.

However, as the newspaper “SonntagsZeitung” wrote, the unions Unia and Syna are said to have violated the collective bargaining agreement they signed with the Swiss Builders’ Association by laying off their jobs.

“Destructive effect prohibited”

The purpose of the convention is to “maintain unlimited industrial peace”. It states that “any form of reprimand or other countermeasures, such as bans or lockouts, as well as any disruptive effect, such as strikes, threats to strike, calls to strike, and any form of non-violent resistance are prohibited.” The Unia and Syna unions still calling for a stoppage is a “violation of the peace obligation”. This St. says Thomas Geiser (70), a professor of employment law at the University of St. Gallen.

And the other side? The two unions argue that strikes are allowed because they are limited in time and place. It was also pre-announced that employers could organize themselves. However, Geiser dismisses this reasoning in the report as unfounded: “This is not a legally defensible argument.”

Complaint in the room

According to the professor, the unions are not only violating the collective bargaining agreement: they are also violating the decision of the Bundesrat, since the Federal Council has declared it to be generally binding. And because the Code of Obligations states that each party to a collective bargaining agreement must “maintain industrial peace and, in particular, refrain from any combative action,” trade unionists are also acting illegally, according to Geiser.

Baumeisterverband reserves the right to lodge a complaint with the national arbitration board provided for in the collective bargaining agreement. (pbe)