Switzerland agrees to cap vacation days
Share Now on:
Switzerland agrees to cap vacation days
David Brancaccio: Who wants more time off, raise your hand. No? In a national vote, the Swiss just decided against making employers give all workers an extra two weeks of paid vacation every year.
Marketplace’s Stephen Beard reports.
Stephen Beard: The Swiss already get a minimum of four weeks paid vacation. They were asked what seems like a silly question: Do you want two weeks more? In any other country, it would be a silly question — but not in Switzerland. They’ve just voted a resounding “no.”
Tony Ganzer is an American journalist based in Zurich.
Tony Ganzer: Two thirds of voters said, ‘No, I don’t want more vacation. I want to do good work. I want to be proud in that, I don’t need extra vacation.’
It’s not just the Swiss work ethic in operation. Critics of the measure said it would drag down the Swiss economy — and at a time when exports and tourism have been hit by the soaring value of the franc.
A spokesman for Swiss industry said the referendum result was not a surprise. This isn’t Greece, he said, this is Switzerland.
In London, I’m Stephen Beard for Marketplace.
There’s a lot happening in the world. Through it all, Marketplace is here for you.
You rely on Marketplace to break down the world’s events and tell you how it affects you in a fact-based, approachable way. We rely on your financial support to keep making that possible.
Your donation today powers the independent journalism that you rely on. For just $5/month, you can help sustain Marketplace so we can keep reporting on the things that matter to you.
