Parental leave rejected – only the city of Zurich says yes
New parents do not get 18 weeks of parental leave in the canton of Zurich. Those entitled to vote said no by a two-thirds majority.
the essentials in brief
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The parental leave clearly fails in the canton of Zurich: Only a good 35 percent of those entitled to vote say yes to parental leave.
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Yes says as the only community that Zurich city. Not all urban districts have been counted yet, but statisticians are currently reckoning with a good 55 percent yes. In Winterthur on the other hand, at a good 55 percent, the no was clearer than expected in the meantime.
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In a popular initiative, the SP had demanded that mums and dads after the birth or adoption of a child 18 weeks paid vacation obtain.
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Do the clear no a national solution difficult, say the proponents. The opponents don’t see any room for it anymore. parents need other improvementssuch as more daycare places and day schools.
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Those entitled to vote clearly rejected parental leave – more clearly than many expected. The three supportive parties, SP, Greens and AL, barely got over their share of the vote. Yes, said only eight city districts of Zurich and two of Winterthur.
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SVP President Benjamin Fischer is relieved. The result is so, «as it has to be.» From his point of view, national parental leave is off the table. Voters would have said yes to two weeks of paternity leave not so long ago: “And if you then overpower, people don’t like it.”
That in the future SMEs may competitive disadvantage have when big companies offer parental leave models on their own, Fischer does not deny: “But that’s it the free marketthat we all want.”
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Security director Mario Fehr (independent) describes the voting result in front of the media as “very very clear”, clearer than expected. There are three reasons for this, according to Fehr. Firstly, a national template is necessary for such a big topic. Secondly, the demands in the initiative were “excessive”. And thirdly, the voters would have understood that now, after the pandemic, not burden the Zurich trade with more than 400 million Swiss francs could.
The government council is of course open to a better work-life balance, “where it is indicated”. Various bills are pending in Parliament.
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Surprise in the city of Zurich: In the second projection, the tide has turned. Now the statisticians do the math with a good 53 percent yes. Five circles have been counted so far. Two say no (11 and 12), three say yes (3, 6 and 10)
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That should hurt the proponents the most: Even them According to the first projections, the city of Zurich says no on parental leave, albeit relatively scarce at 52.6 percent.
In Winterthur, on the other hand, the yes camp has made up some ground, and the projections are currently predicting a very close result. The no camp is only in the lead with just under 50.6 percent.
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In an angry tweet, SP National Councilor Min Li Marti calls for more commitment from business: “It now takes a little more than lip service from business, like we need more childcare places, but don’t want to finance it.” Switzerland has a fundamental problem that will not be solved if it does not invest in the compatibility of work and family.
Now the results from Winterthur are slowly trickling in – and they are at least a little bit better for the initiators. Right here at least a circle Yes: Winterthur-Veltheim with 53.1 percent. According to the extrapolation, the city still agrees with more than 55 percent no.
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If the canton of Zurich rejects parental leave with a two-thirds majority, that is also a signal to Bern, says Zurich FDP President Hans-Jakob Boesch: “Parental leave is the wrong and much too expensive way to a compatibility of job and family.» The proponents should now recognize that.
Now you have to continue with the current situation, 14 weeks vacation for mothers and 2 weeks for fathers, and gain experience.
What parents really need is not excessive vacation time, but individual taxation, more day care centers and day schools, and flexible working hours. And it is precisely with the latter that the SP and unions are required if they are serious about the compatibility of work and family: “But they block one at the federal level modernization of labor law.»
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Committee member and former National Councilor Rosmarie Quadranti (centre) doesn’t have much to talk about: “This result is a disappointment. Apparently, only a third of those eligible to vote recognize the value of parental leave.” Kathrin Bertschy, GLP National Councilor and one of the most pointed supporters of parental leave in Bern, is even clearer: «This result is not good.»
The committee failed to demonstrate the economic benefits of parental leave, says Quadranti. But she also sees an important reason for the meager result in uncertain economic situation: “Costs played a major role. But there was no talk of winning.”
Kathrin Bertschy sees it similarly: “Besides Covid and Ukraine, it was very difficult to set a new topic.” Generally centre-left voted in this vote not good at mobilizing – although their subjects were voted on. The Bernese Green Liberals also hold their Zurich party colleagues accountable. The fact that the Zurich GLP spoke out against parental leave in the cantonal council and then decided to vote was not helpful: “Such pioneering projects should be supported.” The Zurich no now makes it “very difficult”the issue of maternity leave national to pursue further.
On the other hand, Bertschy is also convinced that parental leave must remain on the agenda. Register in Switzerland massive shortage of skilled workers from: «It will come sooner than we think. We have to keep mothers in work.” Quadranti agrees. And she says. “Two weeks of paternity leave has been proven not to be enough. Equal parental leave is needed.”
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Werner Scherrer, President of the SME and Trade Association of the Canton of Zurich (KGV), is “extremely happy” about the result of the vote. For SMEs in particular, parental leave would have been difficult to implement, says the former FDP cantonal councilor: “We would have had massive problems Replace professionals during vacation.»
In addition, parental leave was only introduced in the canton of Zurich. If anything, “such an important issue” must be regulated nationally. But other things have priority for the KGV, according to Scherrer: “We have to do that Improving the environment for working parents. For example, more daycare places and more day schools are needed.” Without these improvements, parental leave is meaningless.
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The EPP was the first party to react to the voting results with a media release. She welcomes the no of the voters. The decisive factor is probably the expected major additional burden for SMEs been, writes the EPP.
Although one recognizes “the progressive approach” to extended parental leave, the EPP continued. But such a must Uniformly regulated and financeable nationally be.
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According to the first projections only a third of voters yes to parental leave in the canton of Zurich. This is a surprisingly clear defeat.
Above all in rural communities, the cause has no chance. In many places there are not even twenty percent yes votes. In Berg am Irchel and Humlikon, the proportion of no votes is over 86 percent. In the traditionally left-leaning Rifferswil, 63 percent of voters said no.
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At 12 o’clock there will be the first results from the communities. An extrapolation by the cantonal statisticians is also expected in the near future.
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Not just the parties, too Entrepreneurs disagree about parental leave. While some are convinced that there is no way around parental leave in the long term if Switzerland wants to remain attractive for employees, others consider it too great a burden if fathers stay at home longer after the birth.
This newspaper has four companies in the canton of Zurichhow they see parental leave. The arguments could not be more different. IT entrepreneur Reto May says openly that he didn’t want to stay at home for so long after the birth of his child. And: For his small business, one is like this long absences hardly organisable.
Damiano Urbinello from the pharmaceutical company MSD sees things very differently. MSD has already introduced paid parental leave of 16 weeks on their own initiative. The experiences are only positive.
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New fathers and mothers who live and work in the canton of Zurich should in future be given time together to get used to their baby. The SP proposes in a popular initiative 18 weeks parental leave for both sexes in front. Parents who work in the canton of Zurich but do not live here should be entitled to at least 14 weeks.
The idea is that mommy and daddy spend the holiday together; on request, a part can also be obtained consecutively. Parental leave is compensated with 80 percent of the previous salary. The whole thing is to be financed analogously to military service and today’s maternity and paternity leave via the income replacement scheme.
The popular initiative is only supported by the Greens and the AL. The three parties are convinced that a Equal parental leave for both sexes benefits the economy, because it has been proven that mothers then return to work more often and with a higher workload. In addition, it has a positive effect on the health of children and mothers if the fathers also stay at home for a few weeks after the birth.
The GLP is basically in favor of parental leave, but it says No to a purely Zurich solution. Center and EPP argue similarly. If the canton of Zurich introduces parental leave alone, that’s what it is damage to the economy as a result. The government council sees it the same way, which is why it also rejects the initiative.
Add to that the proposed duration of 18 weeks: That’s it too long for many opponents. The FDP, for example, considers a maximum of 8 weeks to be reasonable. Only the SVP is fundamentally opposed to parental leave. She thinks families should organize themselves.
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Posted today at 11:17 am
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