In 2012, Swiss voters made a surprising decision: they rejected a proposal to increase mandatory annual leave from four to six weeks. The proposal was defeated by a 67% majority. Many voters believed that longer holidays would cost the economy billions of francs each year. At the time, media reported that citizens ‘kept a sense of reality’ and recognised that what ‘sounds nice at first brings many disadvantages’. The result highlights the Swiss public’s strong focus on economic stability, even at the expense of extra leisure time. Today, the legal minimum remains four weeks, with an extra week for those under 20. The episode remains a talking point in Swiss labour policy.
Article source: thelocal.ch | Image credit: Reuters
