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REFERENDUMS IN SWITZERLAND

Swiss vote on factory farm ban, pension reform

Switzerland votes Sunday on a slew of issues, including a proposed ban on factory farming and divisive pension reform that would raise the retirement age for women.

Swiss vote on factory farm ban, pension reform
Electoral posters ahead of the pension reform vote scheduled for September 25, 2022. Photo: Fabrice COFFRINI/AFP

After aborted attempts in 2004 and 2017, Bern is hoping to garner enough votes to “stabilise” Switzerland’s old-age security system, under pressure as life expectancy rises and the giant baby-boomer generation reaches retirement age.

The most controversial part of the reform would require women to work until the age of 65, the same age as the current retirement age for men, before receiving a full pension. They currently bow out a year earlier at 64.

Parliament approved the key measures, which include a sales tax hike, last year, but left-leaning parties and unions decry the reform “on the backs of women” and pushed the issue to a referendum under Switzerland’s direct democratic system.

Gender pension gap

While backers of the reform argue that men and women retiring at the same age is not unreasonable, the move has sparked significant pushback, especially from women.

Opponents argue that women face significant discrimination and a broad gender pay-gap in Switzerland, meaning they receive far smaller pensions than men.

They argue it is unfair to increase their retirement age without first addressing those issues.

In 2020, women in Switzerland on average received pensions nearly 35 percent smaller than men, according to the Swiss economy ministry.

Surveys indicate, however, that Swiss voters, who have twice rejected government pension reform plans, have warmed to the idea, even if a war of the sexes is bubbling.

In a recent Tamedia poll, 55 percent of those questioned supported it. But while 70 percent of men backed the reform, 58 percent of women opposed it, the
findings said.

Ban factory farms?

Another hotly debated topic on the ballot is a popular proposal to ban intensive livestock farming, essentially eradicating factory farms in largely rural Switzerland.

The animal rights and welfare organisations behind the initiative want to make protecting the dignity of animals like cattle, chickens or pigs a constitutional requirement.

“We believe animal agriculture is one of the defining problems of our time,” animal welfare group Sentience, which presented the initiative, says on its website.

If accepted, the initiative — backed by left-leaning parties, Greenpeace and other environmental organisations — would impose stricter minimum requirements for animal-friendly housing and care, access to outdoors and slaughtering practices.

The new requirements would also extend to imports of animals and animal products.

The government and parliament oppose the initiative, insisting that Switzerland already has among the world’s strictest animal welfare laws.

Under current legislation, farms cannot keep more than 1,500 fattening pigs, 27,000 broiler chickens or 300 calves, basically ruling out the kinds of massive factory farms seen in other countries.

Farmers opposed

Bern has cautioned that tightening these rules further would significantly hike prices, while the import clause could impact relations with trading partners.

Such arguments appear to have convinced a growing number of Swiss and the most recent polls put the “no” camp in the lead. Farmers are sceptical and opposition is higher in rural areas than in cities.

The Swiss will also vote on a number of regional issues, including a vote in Bern canton that could lower the legal voting age from 18 to 16.

Most people vote in advance in Switzerland’s popular polls and referendums held every few months. On Sunday, ballot boxes will open for just a few hours before closing at noon (1000 GMT).

Initial results are expected by the early afternoon.

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HEALTH INSURANCE

What costs could Swiss residents face if health insurance votes don’t pass?

On June 9th, Swiss voters will weigh in on two proposals intended to curb the cost of the health insurance. What could happen if they are rejected?

What costs could Swiss residents face if health insurance votes don't pass?

Both citizen-driven initiatives aim to cut the costs of the obligatory health insurance (KVG / LaMal), which have been climbing for years.

The first proposal calls for capping the insurance rates at 10 percent of income, with the excess be paid for by the federal and cantonal governments.

The second, on the same ballot, provides for a ‘brake’ on health costs, which should evolve according to the economy and wages.

This brake would work in the same way as the federal spending brake. Therefore, when healthcare costs exceed wages for a given year by 20 percent, the government must take action to bring the  costs down.

READ ALSO: How Switzerland’s two crucial health insurance referendums could impact you 

What could happen if the proposals fail to gain the majority of votes?

The Swiss Trade Union (USS) estimates that if the two initiatives are rejected by voters, a family of four would have to pay 27 percent more for their health insurance by the year 2030.

These calculations are based on official government figures, the USS said.

A premium for a single adult would also increase — from 430 to 540 francs a month on average — and would likely be even higher in certain cantons, because how much of your income is spent on health insurance is determined by your place of residence

For instance, based on figures from the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) and research carried out  by Ecoplan independent political and economic consultancy, a family with two young, pre-school-age children and a net income of 97,992 francs a year, will spend the biggest chunk of their income (16.5 percent) on health insurance in Basel-City.

Next are Neuchâtel (14.9 percent) and Bern (13.2 percent).

On the other hand, in Zurich, Switzerland’s (and the world’s) most expensive city, that proportion is 12.2 percent — still high, but lower than in a number of other cantons.

As a comparison, that rate in the canton of Graubünden is only 6 percent.

READ ALSO: In which Swiss cantons is most income spent on health insurance? 

But even despite the risk of much-higher premiums in the future, the Federal Council and the parliament are urging voters to reject both proposals, arguing they will not sustainably solve the soaring costs of healthcare.

Instead, they have concocted their own ‘counter-initiative’ to the two proposals that they want voters to approve.

They include having cantons increase the amount of financial help they pay toward health premiums for low-income people, and providing for more targeted measures, including specific cost control objectives for healthcare services. 

Are the two proposals more likely to be approved or turned down?

In April, GFS research institute found that 60 percent of respondents in its survey approved the initiative to cap premiums at 10 percent of income, while 36 percent were against it. The rest was undecided.

However in a more recent poll, carried out at the beginning of May by Sotomo institute, the ‘yes’ camp was smaller: 56 percent of voters were in favour of the initiative and 40 percent were against.

Here too, 4 percent were undecided.

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