Swiss campaign for parental leave moves closer to nationwide vote

112,517 signatures submitted for the ‘Family Time’ initiative Keystone-SDA

The organisers of the 'Family Time Initiative' submitted the required signatures to the Federal Chancellery on Wednesday. The cross-party alliance is calling for 36 weeks’ parental leave.

The popular initiative “A strong society and economy thanks to parental leave (Family Time Initiative)” is backed by representatives from the political sphere, the women’s organisation Alliance F and the umbrella organisation Travailsuisse.

The initiators submitted a total of 112,517 certified valid signatures to the Federal Chancellery in Bern, they announced on Wednesday. In their press release, the Alliance expressed its delight at the strong support from the public given that 100,000 signatures are required for a popular initiative to be valid.

18 weeks’ parental leave each

The initiative calls for adequate, paid parental leave for parents following the birth of their child. No more than a quarter of the parental leave may be taken jointly and cannot be transferred.

The level of compensation is generally based on the rates for military and civilian service. The initiative stipulates that, for the lowest wages, parental leave compensation should be paid at the rate of the full salary.

It thus brings a familiar demand back into the spotlight. The call for paid leave for both parents has been on the agenda for years. Working mothers are currently entitled to maternity allowance for 14 weeks. In 2020, Swiss voters approved two weeks’ paternity leave, which was introduced at the start of 2021.

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Translated from German, reviewed by an English Department journalist.