Members of a key trade union in the Swiss graphics industry staged a warning strike Wednesday, demanding higher salaries and protesting against a controversial collective labour contract with employers.

Members of a key trade union in the Swiss graphics industry staged a warning strike Wednesday, demanding higher salaries and protesting against a controversial collective labour contract with employers.

The Comedia union said about 4,000 people had followed its call to stop work and stage protests in ten cities throughout the country in order to force employers back to the negotiating table.

Comedia members account for about 10,000 of the industry’s 39,000 workers.

The work stoppage came after trade union representatives and employers agreed in principle on a new framework contract in April. However, Comedia members turned down the employers’ proposals with a 70 percent majority in a grassroots vote in June. Only the small 3000-member Syna trade union implemented the new contract the following month.

A Comedia spokesman said Wednesday there would be more strikes in the coming weeks unless employers were willing to renegotiate the contract in a meeting scheduled for later this month.

Comedia workers want minimum salaries of SFr3,000 ($2,000) a month and no cutbacks in overtime and benefits payments.

Employers in turn said they were willing to sit down and talk with the unions but will not renegotiate issues that were settled in April.

An industry spokesman said that Comedia’s key demands had already been met and that other issues raised were simply “unreasonable.”

From staff and wire reports.

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