Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2025, published 114th ILC session (2026)

Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87) - Switzerland (Ratification: 1975)

The Committee notes the observations of the Swiss Federation of Trade Unions (USS), received on 22 August 2025, which refer to matters examined by the Committee below.

Article 3 of the Convention. The right of organizations to organize their activities and to formulate their programmes. The Committee recalls that in its previous comment, it noted the decision of the Federal Court of 9 October 2018, ruling unconstitutional the prohibition of the right to strike for all cantonal healthcare personnel, without distinguishing between categories of personnel whose presence was or was not essential for the preservation of the life and health of patients. In its report, the Government indicates that this decision was published in the Federal Court collection of judgments (ATF 144 I 306), thus establishing it as a precedent. The Committee notes, upon reading this decision, that the right to strike remains prohibited for all personnel in the public service in one canton, as also underscored by the USS in its observations. The Committee, recalling that its previous comments already addressed this matter, requests the Government to continue to provide information in this regard and to indicate, where relevant, any initiatives of the competent cantonal authorities concerned to ensure that the prohibition of the right to strike in the public service is limited strictly to officials exercising authority in the name of the State, or any applications for review by the courts on this subject.