“The cabinet does not deny an increase in labour productivity. But vacations are not the most important way to benefit employees,“ the justice ministry said.
Under current law, holiday entitlements vary from sector to sector and can differ from one canton to another.
Last year the Travail Suisse trade union umbrella organisation handed in the necessary signatures to force a nationwide vote on the issue.
The unions argue longer holidays would contribute to healthier employees and make jobs and family needs more compatible. The campaigners also said Switzerland lagged behind European standards on holidays.
Parliament still has to discuss the initiative before voters have the final say on the issue.
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Pressure grows for six weeks’ vacation
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Citing stress and the need to be on a par with other European countries, the trade union umbrella organisation Travail Suisse is putting the case for more time off. It has backed up its argument with an initiative signed by 108,000 people. After the signatures have been checked by the Federal Chancellery in Bern, the…
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As Swiss tourists continue to feel the pinch, the trend is towards taking closer-to-home family trips around the Mediterranean – often cruises – compared with the short city breaks seen in the first, more uncertain, half of the year. Last year sun-seekers travelling south via the Gotthard tunnel found themselves caught up in a ten-kilometre…
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But the sector says that it is crisis resistant, even if it expects 2010 to be another hard year. There were 35.6 million overnight stays in Switzerland in 2009, according to the Federal Statistics Office. This is 4.7 per cent less than in the record 2008. “Most regions had a reduction of overnight stays. The…
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If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.