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18 November, 1999Swiss workers will fight by all means to preserve their jobs.
SWITZERLAND: ADtranz/DaimlerChrysler Rail Systems announced on November 11 from its headquarters in Berlin that their Von Roll railway car production in Switzerland will be shut down as of Spring 2001, affecting 750 employees, in Pratteln and Zurich-Oerlikon. The technological development centers in Winterthur and Zurich will not be affected, but at the European level, 3,000 jobs will be wiped out.
The Swiss trade unions and the local works representatives immediately denounced this decision, saying it could not be justified as the company is making profits and their order book extends into the year 2001. In addition, they said the company has enfringed legal provisions in Switzerland (OR335) according to which, in the case of mass dismissals, workers' representatives or all employees must be consulted -- and they were not.
On November 15, the entire workforce of ADtranz in Pratteln and Oerlikon laid down their tools in protest against the announced closure and made it known that management had better be prepared for a hard fight. The regional secretary of the SMUV -- the Swiss metalworkers' union - said that closing down production in Switzerland was a "contradiction to any industrial logic" and that the unions would fight by all means to preserve these jobs. A large demonstration will take place tomorrow, November 20, in Zurich, with a march on the town hall.
The Swiss trade unions and the local works representatives immediately denounced this decision, saying it could not be justified as the company is making profits and their order book extends into the year 2001. In addition, they said the company has enfringed legal provisions in Switzerland (OR335) according to which, in the case of mass dismissals, workers' representatives or all employees must be consulted -- and they were not.
On November 15, the entire workforce of ADtranz in Pratteln and Oerlikon laid down their tools in protest against the announced closure and made it known that management had better be prepared for a hard fight. The regional secretary of the SMUV -- the Swiss metalworkers' union - said that closing down production in Switzerland was a "contradiction to any industrial logic" and that the unions would fight by all means to preserve these jobs. A large demonstration will take place tomorrow, November 20, in Zurich, with a march on the town hall.