Advocates push for maternity and parental leave reforms in Germany and Switzerland

In Germany, the association ‘Mutterschutz für Alle!’ is organizing a ‘Zukunftsgipfel’ (Future Summit) in Berlin to advocate for maternity protection for self-employed individuals. Despite being included in the coalition agreement between the Union and SPD, current legislative drafts for parental allowance reform have not yet included specific proposals to secure the rights of entrepreneurs, who often lack the protections and time off afforded to employees.

In Switzerland, a cross-party alliance has successfully collected over 136,000 signatures for the ‘Familienzeit-Initiative’ (Family Time Initiative), surpassing the required 100,000 threshold. The initiative proposes that both parents receive 18 weeks of family time, significantly increasing the current provisions of 14 weeks for maternity and 2 weeks for paternity. The committee, which includes figures such as former Federal Councillor Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf, argues that such an investment in family time will provide long-term economic benefits.