Labour law in Switzerland does not provide any paternity leave. Now Swiss voters must decide whether to introduce it. In practical terms, what would it mean if fathers had time off work to devote to their children? "It would be a first step which could change the whole social set-up,” says Davide Dosi of the popular initiative on paternity leave, soon up for a vote in Switzerland. He and his wife Arianna make their home in Chiasso, a Swiss community of 8,000 on the Italian border. While the Dosis are strongly in favour of the initiative, it is not because they expect to benefit from it themselves. Their two daughters are grown; in December, Anna will be 11 and Elena 7. Change the law? In May 2016, following the narrow defeat of a similar parliamentary initiative, four organisations including the Christian trade union federation Travail Suisse launched the people’s initiative "For a reasonable paternity leave – for the sake of the whole family". The text proposes to enshrine ...
