Activists opposed to legislation granting more surveillance powers to so-called social welfare detectives have collected the signatures needed to bring the issue to a national vote. The referendum will be held on November 25. A total of 50,000 valid signatures collected within 100 days are needed to force a referendum on such legislation; activists opposed to the ‘social detectives’ law gathered just under 75,500 since March, of which 55,861 were valid, it was announced on Thursday. The signatures were handed into the Federal Chancellery and, once confirmed, will mean that Swiss citizens will vote on the issue on November 25 next, along with the questions of national self-determination and cattle farmer subsidies for horn cows. At stake are the proposed extra powers to be granted to private detectives who – by request of public and private insurance companies – can spy on welfare recipients to weed out fraud. The law would allow the detectives to make visual and sound ...
