When Switzerland went on strike

November marks he centenary of the General Strike in 1918, when the Swiss workforce decided: Enough is enough. Wages were no longer paid, there were hunger crises and soldiers were conscripted for active military service. So workers laid down their tool all over Switzerland, with violent clashes in Zurich. The demands: proportional representation, women’s suffrage, pension and invalidity insurance, a 48-hour working week. A quarter of million went on strike on November 12, and the military tried to beat it down. Many of the demands were finally met and the events of 1918, are also the basis of the consensus-oriented system of social partnership between employees and employers. However, it is all difficult to image, when you know the Switzerland of today. Swissinfo wrote an interesting background article about this time and Landesmuseum just launched an exhibition. Time for a history lesson, i’d say.