Trains, airlines and airports stand still all over Switzerland

class=”sc-3778e872-0 cKDKQr”>

There is no need to relax and unwind: In Zurich, Switzerland’s most populous canton, spring break starts on Friday evening. Vacationers from other cantons are returning home from their holidays. And this is it now: the general strike in Italy, the great strike in Germany on the railways and at various airports.

There isn’t much happening in our north and south right now. There were hardly any trains in Germany on Friday morning, and SBB even advised against traveling to Germany. There have also been flight cancellations due to various airport strikes since Thursday, affecting Switzerland as well. For a short time, Stuttgart (D) and Karlsruhe (D) airports also joined the three previously striking airports.

It’s a little different in Italy: trains run there. Buses, subways, planes and ferries were canceled due to the CUB union’s call for a general strike. There are no people at the toll booths on the highways. The result: long traffic jams. Schools, healthcare and other public services are also affected by the strikes.

Traffic in France was unaffected today. There is a general strike in schools. And the airline Vueling is on strike on Saturday and Sunday.

Workers are cooking

So it feels like there’s a strike all over Switzerland. And more and more often. France has been grappling with strikes and demonstrations for months in connection with President Emmanuel Macron’s (45) pension reform. There was a large-scale warning strike in the transport sector in Germany at the end of March. If the current collective bargaining fails, railroad companies are threatened with an open-ended industrial dispute. Railway operators in Austria went on strike last November.

Traditionally, strikes rarely occur in Switzerland. But the word is ubiquitous in us, too. In aviation, for example, both pilots and cabin crew have threatened to go on strike as part of their CLA negotiations with Switzerland. The workforce at chocolate maker Toblerone is about to go on strike. Stable Switzerland fears all strike waves. So far none have happened, but that doesn’t mean anything.

In other words, there is a fusion between workers and employers in the heart of Europe. Since strikes are most effective when they affect the general public – Gotthard stickers say hello – the transport industry is affected again and again. As a result, road users can hardly rely on scheduled transport services.

parties far from each other

Striking: the huge gap between employees and employers. The first usually comes with maximum demands. German rail workers want at least 650 euros per month, or 12 percent more for high-income earners. Italian baggage handlers are asking for an additional 270 euros per month. Swiss flight attendants even promised a pay rise of up to 18 percent, but still backed out of the deal due to a generation gap.

Ultimately, it’s about hollowing out the middle class. About wage losses during the corona years and above all wage improvements that are well below the inflation trend.

Employers similarly claim: The years of Corona have eroded earnings and offer little room for wage increases.

Source :Blick