Swiss Campaign For Parental Leave Moves Closer To Nationwide Vote

(MENAFN- Swissinfo) 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. Select your language

Generated with artificial intelligence. Listening: Swiss campaign for parental leave moves closer to nationwide vote This content was published on September 30, 2026 - 15:24 2 minutes Keystone-SDA

Deutsch de 112'517 Unterschriften für Familienzeit-Initiative eingereicht Original Read more: 112'517 Unterschriften für Familienzeit-Initiative einger

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.

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