Zurich cantonal government to compensate victims of forced labour

The framework credit of CHF20 million is based on the assumption that around 800 applications would be submitted and approved. Keystone-SDA

Victims of past forced labour measures in canton Zurich could soon apply to receive a one-off solidarity compensation of CHF25,000 ($30,255). The Zurich cantonal government is proposing a framework credit of CHF20 million to the cantonal parliament for this purpose.

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With the financial compensation, the canton of Zurich wants to make a contribution to making amends for the injustice committed, the cantonal government said on Thursday. The framework credit of CHF20 million is based on the assumption that around 800 applications would be submitted and approved.

The compensation would apply to those who were ordered by authorities in canton Zurich to undergo a compulsory measure or placement before 1981. People who have already received a solidarity contribution from another canton, the city of Zurich or another municipality are excluded from this proposed scheme. The State Archives would be responsible for examining the applications.

Until 1981, some children and young people in the canton were locked up in homes, placed in foster families and exploited as cheap labour. So-called dissolute or work-shy adults were incapacitated and sterilised. Women and men were sent to labour institutions for re-education or to psychiatric clinics against their will.

On January 1, 1981, new provisions regarding the deprivation of liberty came into force. For the first time, there was a standardised legal basis throughout Switzerland that allowed interventions in personal freedom to be challenged in court. The cantonal provisions thus had to be repealed or adapted.

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Translated from German with DeepL/gw

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