Giu Le Mani

On March 7, 2008, the management of Swiss Federal Railways announced the privatisation of its freight train maintenance and relocation of its locomotive maintenance. The 430 workers at the factories of SBB Cargo in Bellinzona went on strike. Within a few days an extensive protest movement was not only initiated, but also supported by the entire region. The workshop designated for the varnishing of the trains became the center and symbol of the fight. The ensuing struggle between the strikers and the SBB management lasted thirty days, a struggle whose scope rapidly exceeded the safeguarding of jobs and the destiny of hundreds of families and also encompassed a debate on the role of the individual in an ever-increasing global economy, human beings and their values. An intense month during which the entire political community was mobilised.