The canton of Geneva has bought a period of peace for several months with government workers who have gone on strike for seven days over planned budget cuts since the beginning of November. The cantonal government signed an agreement on December with unions representing government employees. It guarantees no strikes until March 21st while negotiations continue between the two sides. In its deal with the unions, the government agreed to suspend planned measures that included an increase in the work week to 42 from 40 hours, more part-time work, an easier system for instituting layoffs and non-replacement of workers who retire or move to other jobs. However, the cantonal government reaffirmed its intent to cut spending over the next three years by 192 million francs, including grants to public institutions such as the Geneva University Hospital (HUG), the Geneva Transport Authority (TPG) and Geneva’s utility SIG.
English: http://www.thelocal.ch/20151218/geneva-buys-labour-peace-without-a-budget
For more information, please contact the editor Jan Cremers, Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Labour Studies (AIAS) cbn-aias@uva.nl or the communications officer at the ETUI, Mariya Nikolova mnikolova@etui.org. For previous issues of the Collective bargaining newsletter please visit http://www.etui.org/E-Newsletters/Collective-bargaining-newsletter. You may find further information on the ETUI at www.etui.org, and on the AIAS at www.uva-aias.net.