Swiss glassworks staff on strike over lay-offs

Staff at the Vetropack glass-making factory in St-Prex, canton Vaud, are on strike, demanding better terms for people being laid off. Do you want to read our weekly top stories? Subscribe here. Since the announcement in mid-May of the closure of the glassworks, the employees, supported by the Unia and Syna unions, have demanded that “real negotiations” be carried out regarding the social plan. They also demand a freeze on layoffs – around 180 positions must be eliminated – until this social plan has been negotiated and signed. They ultimately demand the maintenance of industrial jobs in St-Prex in the event of takeover by another company. Believing that management is not responding to these demands, the employees met in an assembly and decided to go on strike late Friday morning. The movement is followed by “a large majority” of employees, notes Nicole Vassalli, head of the Unia Vaud industry sector, when contacted by Keystone-SDA. She specifies that the factory is not completely ...