- On Tuesday evening, the Vaud state staff again demanded higher wages.
- Around 3000 people expressed this opinion on the street.
- The unions have meanwhile submitted a new proposal to the State Council.
The Vaud state employees are demanding the full cost-of-living adjustment of three percent. In December, however, the government decided to raise wages by just 1.4 percent. This was not enough for the employees and so protests followed.
Legend:
A picture of the February 9 protests in Lausanne.
Keystone/Valentin Flauraud
On Tuesday evening, the public and semi-public service mobilized for the sixth time. Around 3000 people took part in the demonstration in Lausanne. It had looked like last week that the parties would find each other. However, the trade unions considered the cantonal government’s offer to be insufficient and said they left the negotiating table disappointed.
Declining number of participants
With around 3,000 demonstrators, there were not as many people on the streets as there were on January 31st. At that time, according to the police, 5,000 people and, according to the unions, as many as 10,000 people joined the protests.
The demonstration demanded “to maintain the pressure on the State Council, which only understands the mobilization of the street.” The government is inhuman and would only see civil servants as adjustment variables in the state budget.
New approach of the unions
The Vaud government proposed a cost-of-living premium of CHF 15 million. Instead of paying this sum all at once in 2024, the unions are now demanding that it be included in the November and December 2023 salaries. In addition, the wage payments of state employees are to be linked to the consumer price index of October 2023 in the future.
We have seen that the government is deadlocked on the issue of full indexation and are now proposing another way.
This proposal aims to limit the drop in wages for 2023. David Jeanquartier, secretary-general of the Vaud public and parastatal sector union, admits that this proposal will cost the Council of State less in 2023 but will cost more in 2024.
The new proposal is based on the previously deadlocked situation, according to Jeanquartier: “We have seen that the government is deadlocked on the issue of full indexation and are now proposing a different way.” Because with this approach, the trade unions for the first time forgo full cost-of-living compensation. Now it is again up to the Council of State to respond to the new proposal.