News

The 121-day strike by cleaners employed by ISS at the Geneva Airport has ended with a contract settlement that was reached between SSP (Swiss Trade Union of Public Services) and ISS Switzerland on 8 November. All striking workers will return to the job on the first of December.



Last summer, ISS implemented changes in the salary scale for airport cleaners which substantially reduced their wage scale. When SSP refused to go along with the proposal, the company brought in a second union to sign a collective agreement adopting these lower rates. But a number of determined cleaners, fully supported by SSP, went on strike and stayed out until ISS was willing to agree to a fair wage settlement. The striking members of SSP gained impressive support from the political establishment, the labour movement and the progressive community in Geneva and throughout Switzerland.



UNI contacted ISS management to appeal for intervention in a dispute that was damaging the company’s reputation in the Geneva area and across Switzerland. Philip Jennings personally helped set the stage for settlement talks through discussions with key leaders in SSP and ISS. These discussions brought the parties back to the bargaining table in early November and were an important part of reaching this agreement.



The union succeeded in its key demand of improving the salary scale. SSP and ISS agreed, effective 2012, to increase the new pay scale from ISS’s proposal of 3,800 to 4,510 CHF per month at the top step and to increase the entry level pay rate to 3,550 CHF per month, 50 CHF more per month than the ISS proposal. The parties also agreed to 2012 wage increases for auxiliary staff who are paid by the hour.



Stefan Giger, General Secretary of SSP, thanked UNI for the productive role it was able to play through its global relationship with ISS. The working conditions for the cleaners will improve and that is the key concern for SSP. ISS was concerned about its reputational interests and ongoing public contracts in Switzerland. This settlement also addresses these concerns. From UNI’s standpoint, both parties’ interests were met with this settlement and it brings to closure one of the longest strikes in Geneva in recent years.