A petition signed by more than 110,000 people is calling for maternity leave in Switzerland to be extended from 14 weeks to six months, reported RTS.

The petition was submitted to the Federal Chancellery on Monday. Its organisers argue that the 98 days currently granted are insufficient during the first months of a child’s life. They cite the importance of breastfeeding, maternal proximity and emotional security for an infant’s development.

The petition also says that women need more time to recover physically and psychologically from childbirth. A longer period of leave would, its supporters argue, also make it easier to combine family life with work.

Switzerland behind
In Switzerland, mothers are entitled to 14 weeks of leave after giving birth, while fathers receive two weeks. These provisions are less generous than those in several other European countries. In Spain, for example, each parent is entitled to 19 weeks.

Alliance F, an organisation that represents women’s political interests, and the Green Party favour a different model. Their popular initiative proposes 18 weeks of leave for each parent. They describe the plan as more equitable and better suited to sharing family responsibilities.

In 2019, Switzerland’s Federal Commission for Family Affairs argued that a shared parental-leave system would do more for equality and mothers’ employment than separate, short entitlements for fathers and mothers. The advantage with such a system is that it gives parents the freedom to decide who takes time off work. A proposal like this might eliminate political resistance from those who argue that separate leave for fathers and mothers is socially coercive and penalises families that chose to have a stay-at-home parent. As a result it might stand more chance of winning broad support.

More on this:
RTS article (in French) – Take a 5 minute French test now

For more stories like this on Switzerland follow us on Facebook and X.