Grève des Femmes!

On 14th June 2019, the "Grève des Femmes" strike for women rights in Switzerland took place. The strike was a signal of times changing as there has not been a large mass of protest in the country before, half a million women and men took part in the french, german and Italian regions of the country. As a country well known for its wealth and vast mountain scenery, many would believe life in Switzerland has no struggle but this strike was not only a call to action but a way to bring awareness to violence against women.

Preparations to plan the strike were launched at the Women's Congress, on June 2, 2018 , which had gathered more than 150 women - unionized or no, organized or not, convinced that a feminist call to action was necessary to fight against an economic system where the profit of a few counts more than the life of the majority of the population. From this date, collectives were created in all the cantons; a Manifesto created and a national network to mobilise women and men in support was established.

WREPA was able to attend the strike and get a better understanding of what the demands are, the march was an outright call to the end of violence against women and children and also highlighted the demands below:

• We want respect for our work and equal opportunities. We want zero tolerance for sexism and sexual harassment. We want an end to violence against women.

• We want more pay, and equal pay for equal work. We want decent wages, which allow us to live. We want rents that provide us with a dignified retirement.

• We want more time, and better work / life balance. We want time to train and professional perspectives. We want a guaranteed occupancy rate, which allows us to live.

To get in-depth information on the organisation supporting the movement visit UNIA

To follow along on next steps for the movement visit the main site grève des femmes

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