(Photo: UNIA)

The Building and Wood Workers’ International (BWI) expresses its full solidarity with the more than 7,500 construction workers,  who have taken to the streets on 4 November 2025 in the francophone part of Switzerland, mainly in the cities of Geneva and Lausanne. Their coordinated actions, which are spreading more and more across the country, show a united and determined workforce refusing to accept stalled negotiations and the refusal of employers to even set new dates. Construction workers perform some of the hardest and most dangerous work. They deserve decent living and working conditions.

BWI supports their legitimate demands: no more unpaid travel time between the company and the site, a paid mid-morning break, shorter working days, and guaranteed cost-of-living adjustments. Another key issue is working-time organisation. Unions reject extending the workweek into Saturdays, while employers push for greater flexibility, citing weather conditions and labour shortages. These demands are not luxuries; they are basic safeguards for workers’ health, family life, and purchasing power. BWI firmly rejects the builders’ association’s proposal for longer working hours, wage reductions, and weaker protections for older, sick, or injured workers, measures that would only exacerbate existing pressures on workers.

The growing wave of protests is a powerful assertion of workers’ rights. BWI stands with them as they continue their mobilisation. Nico Lutz, Board Member of UNIA, emphasised that the movement will continue towards Swiss Germany, and that they intend to win. Their courage, unity, and resolve are reshaping the future of the construction industry in Switzerland and bringing new inspiration to the global labour movement. Their fight is just, and their voice is strong. They are not alone. We stand with them.