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SWISS REFERENDUM

What is the ‘Netflix vote’ and how could it change TV in Switzerland?

The result of Switzerland's 'Netflix referendum' could see streaming costs increase, alongside significant programming changes. Here's what you need to know.

Published: 3 May 2022 10:59 CEST
Updated: 15 May 2022 06:53 CEST
What is the ‘Netflix vote’ and how could it change TV in Switzerland?
Netflix has pulled the plug on two Danish productions after local agreement requires more pay, rights for industry creatives. Photo: Pixabay

On May 15th, the Swiss will go to the polls to decide on three issues, including one that would, if passed, regulate the content of streaming services.

In the second of four rounds of national referendums scheduled for 2022, the Swiss will head to the polls on May 15th to decide on three issues: The Film Act (dubbed ‘Lex Netflix), support for European border guards (Frontex), and transplant /organ donation law.

EXPLAINED: What’s at stake in Switzerland’s May referendums?

As elsewhere, streaming services like Netflix, Amazon Prime, Apple TV, and others have become very popular in Switzerland.

According to Moneyland.ch, a price comparison platform, Netflix alone has 3.4 million subscribers in Switzerland, more than other streaming services combined.

However the Federal Council and the parliament want to raise the price of subscription (for Netflix, monthly costs range from 11.90 to 24.90 francs a month, depending on the plan).

What is the ‘Lex Netflix’ vote about?

Currently, national and regional channels must invest four percent of their profits in Swiss cinema. The Federal Council and parliament have decided that streaming platforms should contribute the same percentage to support domestic film-making as well.

The law also stipulates that 30 percent of the content of streaming services must consist of films or series produced in Europe.

While the move has incited opposition (see below), Switzerland is not the only country to take these measures, though the proportion of mandated indigenous production is higher than elsewhere.

In France, platforms must invest 26 percent of their turnover in local films and series, and in Italy 20 percent. In Germany, there is no obligation to invest, but a tax of 2.5 percent is levied.

Who is against this proposed change, and why?

A multi-party committee has launched a referendum against this law, claiming it would make streaming services more expensive.

“The law completely bypasses consumers and the new tax is an attack on their wallets”, according to Matthias Müller, chairman of the referendum committee.

The second bone of contention concerns the imposition of the 30 percent proportion of European content, which means “consumers will no longer have the freedom to watch what they want and will become, without valid reason, the victims of an absurd quota”.

The committee also argues that the “tax on films” constitutes “an attack on economic freedom”.

Will the law be accepted or rejected?

Just two weeks before the vote, the Swiss populace appears split on the issue. 

The latest poll carried out at the end of April by Switzerland’s largest media group, Tamedia, shows that 47 percent of respondents would reject the project , while 49 percent would accept it.

The fate of what will certainly be a very close outcome lies with the four percent of  voters who are still undecided. So, as they say in many Netflix shows… stay tuned!

READ MORE: Frontex: How Switzerland’s ‘border vote’ on May 15th could impact travel

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SWISS REFERENDUM

‘Historic step’: What to know about Geneva’s plan to extend parental leave

Geneva residents have voted for a 24-week paid leave package for new parents — the first Swiss canton to do so.

Published: 20 June 2023 12:25 CEST
‘Historic step’: What to know about Geneva's plan to extend parental leave

Nearly 58 percent of the canton’s voters on Sunday June 18th greenlighted the proposal put forward by the Green Liberal Party to grant new parents a paid leave that is six weeks longer than the current (cumulative) period allowed by the law (read more about this below).

“It is an immense joy, a historic progressive step,” Aurélien Barakat, president of the Geneva Green Liberals, said on social media after the results of the vote emerged. 

However, the new legislation must still be approved by the parliament during its autumn session, so the victory at the polls is still tentative at this point.

What would the new law provide for?

In short, it would give new parents in the canton — including homosexual couples and adoptive parents — more time at home with their baby.

Currently, Geneva mothers get 16 weeks of leave (versus 14 weeks provided for by federal law), while fathers benefit from two weeks — the same period as in other cantons.

Under the new law — should it be accepted by the parliament — new parents will benefit from six more weeks at home with their baby.

This leave can be taken either at the same time by both parents for a total of 24 weeks for the two, or one of the parents can grant two weeks of their own allowance to the other, by mutual agreement. In other words, this scheme allows some flexibility.

These additional weeks are to be financed by a joint contribution from employees and employers.

Not everyone, however, is happy about the vote’s results.

“With the approval of this constitutional provision, the purchasing power of the population will decline due to the increase in joint contributions,” toward the parental leave, the Geneva section of the right wing Swiss People’s Party (UDC) said in a statement. 

What is the situation elsewhere in the country?

Parental leave allowances in Switzerland are lagging behind many other European nations. 

The reason is that the country has a strong history of individual responsibility, which promotes the idea that the state (or employer) should not pay for people choosing to have children.

Mothers here are entitled to 14 weeks leave and fathers to two.

During the 14-week (or 98-day) leave of absence, mothers in Switzerland are entitled to be paid 80 percent of their salary, up to a maximum of 196 francs a day.

But while the paid maternity leave was established in Switzerland in 2005 — years later than in the EU — fathers had to wait much longer to get that same (though more time- limited) right.

That changed on September 27th, 2020, when 60 percent of Swiss voters decided in favour of a two-weeks paternity leave.

As far as compensation, fathers can receive a maximum of 2,744 Swiss francs during their two weeks of leave with the money to be paid under the state-run compensation scheme. 

READ ALSO: What parental leave are new parents entitled to in Switzerland?

All this shows why Geneva’s move is truly pioneering for Switzerland, although it is still far behind the benefits accorded to new parents in other countries — in France, for instance, new mothers are entitled to receive up to 26 weeks of leave, and in Sweden both parents can benefit from 480 days off.

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