Ringier: Laid-off print shop employees hand over demand

A year ago, the printing plant employees of Swissprinters St. Gallen demonstrated in front of Ringier headquarters in Zurich against the closure of their plant and the dismissal of the entire workforce. Today, Thursday, Swissprinters print shop employees are again demonstrating at Dufourstrasse 23 in Zurich. This is because when the business was transferred to the newly founded printing company IRL+, the printing company took over 71 of the 126 employees, and a social plan was agreed for the others. The union describes this as insufficient.

The union is therefore demanding severance pay of ten percent of a monthly salary per year of employment for all those not taken over by IRL+. All others who do not have a new job should receive compensation payments on their old salary for six months. On several occasions, those affected have personally written to Michael Ringier asking him to respect the people who have helped him rake in millions with their hands-on work in recent years, Syndicom said in a statement. The entrepreneur, it said, had remained firm and had tried to pull out of responsibility. Because Ringier does not come to them, the dismissed employees of Swissprinters Lausanne in Renens now come to him to seek a discussion with him and to hand him their letter publicly.

Werfeli had accepted the letter, Roland Kreuzer, head of the media sector at Syndicom, told the SDA news agency. Werfeli had shown understanding and "vaguely promised" that the board of directors "could discuss the matter again". Kreuzer also told SDA that a letter had also been sent to the cantonal conciliation office in Vaud on Thursday. It is supposed to bring Ringier, the affected employees and the union to the table. The company now has to wait and see.