- Around 3,000 state employees have protested in Lausanne for higher wages.
- Teachers had previously gone on strike at around 30 schools, high schools and other educational institutions.
- The march started from Place Saint-François and moved to Place du Château.
The protesters believe that the inflation adjustment of 1.4 percent from January 1, 2023 is insufficient given the higher inflation.
“This cost-of-living compensation is one of the lowest of public employers in western Switzerland,” says a statement from the unions. They are asking for an adjustment that corresponds to the increase in the national consumer price index between October 2021 and October 2022 (+3 percent).
24 out of 93 schools affected
School and high school teachers in particular took part in the strike. Some of the staff at the Vaud School of Health and the Center professionnel du Nord vaudois in Lausanne also stopped working. With more than 1,300 strikers, it is the largest mobilization since the protest against the pension fund reform in 2013, said VPOD union secretary David Gygax.
Legend:
The cost-of-living adjustment of 1.4 percent is not sufficient for the protesters.
KEYSTONE/LAURENT GILLIERON
As the Vaud education department told the Keystone-SDA news agency on request, almost 800 compulsory school teachers (out of more than 10,000) took part in the strike. 24 out of 93 schools were affected. Care had been organized for the students concerned and the parents had been notified in advance, said a spokesman.
In the post-compulsory area, around 500 teachers would have stopped working. The students whose classes were canceled were free.