Demonstration Thousands of Vaudois civil servants demonstrate against austerity package
Around 20,000 public sector employees in the canton of Vaud took to the streets again on Wednesday. They protested in Lausanne against the 2026 draft budget and the austerity measures it contains.
26.11.2025, 19:04
26.11.2025, 20:21
SDA
"Our movement is historic and will therefore go down in history. We will not stop", said a trade unionist on site. The demonstration made its way through the streets of Lausanne towards the seat of government shortly after 6 pm. Around 400 demonstrators had already gathered there in the morning. According to a police count at around 6.45 p.m., almost 20,000 people took part in the demonstration. The trade unions spoke of 28,000 people.
The announced cuts of 305 million francs were considered unacceptable by the demonstrators. The trade unionists also mentioned the resignation of State Councillor and Health Minister Rebecca Ruiz, which had been announced a few hours earlier. They see this as a missed opportunity to show clear support for the strike movement.
Strike planned for December 4
At a joint general meeting on Tuesday evening, public and semi-public sector workers called for the mobilization to continue next week. A "total strike" has been announced for Thursday, December 4. On 2 and 3 December, there will be actions in front of the Grand Council, where the 2026 budget will be discussed.
Wednesday was the fourth day of mobilization since October and the second this week. On October 2, 12,000 people took part in the first demonstration against the budget cuts. Part of the public sector had already gone on strike last week. The trade unions estimated the number of demonstrators at 25,000 at the time, while the police put the figure at 16,000.
The Vaud government presented its draft budget for 2026 on September 24. This envisages a deficit of CHF 331 million and austerity measures amounting to CHF 305 million. State employees are also affected, in particular by salary cuts of 0.7 percent.
