Respecting the right to strike
Since two years the representatives of the employers in the ILO, a tripartite multilateral body responsible for guaranteeing the correct application of an international labour code, try to weaken the global work regulations.
On the occasion of the Global Day of Action for the right to strike at the invitation of the Geneva community of Union action (Communauté genevoise d’action syndicale) and the Swiss Trade Union Association (Union syndicale suisse) around noon on Wednesday 18th February some fifty staff representatives of international organizations gathered on the place des Nations in Geneva to reaffirm the importance of this fundamental right, too often flouted.
A delegation of the CERN Staff Association was also present. In a short speech, the Staff Association said that, while being one of the fundamental human rights, to be efficient the right to strike must be used intelligently. It must be implemented taking into account the sensitivities of the professional environment and respecting other’s opinions. Only under these conditions, the action will be supported by the majority of the stakeholders and maximize the chances of success. In particular, at CERN, where we speak of “concerted work stoppage”, it is not easy to convince and to unite the employees coming from all corners of Europe, and even from beyond, to use their right to strike, a word with a strong cultural and societal connotation.
