Today in Switzerland: A roundup of the latest news on Tuesday
Workers in Switzerland will not be getting longer vacations; a city in Zurich will have a high school for Covid deniers; and other news in our Tuesday roundup.
MPs turn down a proposal for longer vacations for Switzerland's workers
Swiss employees are entitled to at least four weeks of paid vacations each year.
However, a socialist deputy has called on the parliament to modify the law, so that all employees would be entitled to five weeks instead. A parliamentary committee rejected the proposal on Monday.
The committee explained that in 2012, Swiss voters had already rejected a proposal to introduce a six-week-long holiday in a referendum because this would be detrimental to the country’s economy.
It added that it is up to individual companies, rather than a national law, to offer longer vacations to their employees — which many already do.
READ MORE: Everything you need to know about annual leave in Switzerland
Corona skeptics open a private high school in Winterthur
Starting from the new academic year in the summer of 2023, the Zurich municipality will be home to Switzerland’s first, and so far the only, school for those who oppose any Covid measures, and even deny the scientific evidence about the disease.
Teaching staff will include corona skeptics as well, and the school's headmaster will be one of the region’s most vocal Covid deniers, who has often criticised Switzerland’s stance on vaccines and other coronavirus measures.
Despite his skewed views, the headmaster claims the school will allow students to exhibit a wide "diversity of opinions".
Switzerland’s labour market remains solid, economists say
The employment indicator compiled by the Center for Economic Studies (KOF) of the Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich is “significantly above its multi-year average" so far this year
This is due mainly to demand for new employees exceeding the supply of available workforce, KOF said.
By sector, the situation has improved in the manufacturing industry, as well as in wholesale trade and insurance, “while the outlook remains stable in hotels and restaurants, well above the long-term average."
READ MORE: Five official websites to know if you’re planning to work in Switzerland
Men are still expected to be breadwinners in Switzerland
A survey on part-time work released on Monday indicates that most respondents remain attached to the traditional role of the man as the main provider of the family.
They see the ideal part-time work rate for a father of school-age children as 80 percent, while for mothers, it is 60 percent.
Not all study respondents share the same view, however. University graduates, young people, as well as sympathisers of left-wing parties, prefer an equal, 50-percent distribution of paid work between sexes.
If you have any questions about life in Switzerland, ideas for articles or news tips for The Local, please get in touch with us at [email protected]
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MPs turn down a proposal for longer vacations for Switzerland's workers
Swiss employees are entitled to at least four weeks of paid vacations each year.
However, a socialist deputy has called on the parliament to modify the law, so that all employees would be entitled to five weeks instead. A parliamentary committee rejected the proposal on Monday.
The committee explained that in 2012, Swiss voters had already rejected a proposal to introduce a six-week-long holiday in a referendum because this would be detrimental to the country’s economy.
It added that it is up to individual companies, rather than a national law, to offer longer vacations to their employees — which many already do.
READ MORE: Everything you need to know about annual leave in Switzerland
Corona skeptics open a private high school in Winterthur
Starting from the new academic year in the summer of 2023, the Zurich municipality will be home to Switzerland’s first, and so far the only, school for those who oppose any Covid measures, and even deny the scientific evidence about the disease.
Teaching staff will include corona skeptics as well, and the school's headmaster will be one of the region’s most vocal Covid deniers, who has often criticised Switzerland’s stance on vaccines and other coronavirus measures.
Despite his skewed views, the headmaster claims the school will allow students to exhibit a wide "diversity of opinions".
Switzerland’s labour market remains solid, economists say
The employment indicator compiled by the Center for Economic Studies (KOF) of the Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich is “significantly above its multi-year average" so far this year
This is due mainly to demand for new employees exceeding the supply of available workforce, KOF said.
By sector, the situation has improved in the manufacturing industry, as well as in wholesale trade and insurance, “while the outlook remains stable in hotels and restaurants, well above the long-term average."
READ MORE: Five official websites to know if you’re planning to work in Switzerland
Men are still expected to be breadwinners in Switzerland
A survey on part-time work released on Monday indicates that most respondents remain attached to the traditional role of the man as the main provider of the family.
They see the ideal part-time work rate for a father of school-age children as 80 percent, while for mothers, it is 60 percent.
Not all study respondents share the same view, however. University graduates, young people, as well as sympathisers of left-wing parties, prefer an equal, 50-percent distribution of paid work between sexes.
If you have any questions about life in Switzerland, ideas for articles or news tips for The Local, please get in touch with us at [email protected]
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