More time off? No, say the Swiss as nation rejects plans for minimum of six weeks paid holiday

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More time off? No, say the Swiss as nation rejects plans for minimum of six weeks paid holiday

March 12th, 2012

FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda

By
Daily Mail Reporter

PUBLISHED:

21:42 EST, 11 March 2012

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UPDATED:

03:31 EST, 12 March 2012

Swiss citizens appear to be leading the way on European austerity, apparently rejecting a minimum of six weeks of paid vacation a year.

Swiss polls closed last night on several national referendums, including one pushed by a union to raise the minimum holiday from four weeks.

An exit poll by Swiss public broadcaster SSR projected that when votes were counted, two-thirds would reject the proposal.

Poll: Swiss people voted in a referendum yesterday over changes to their minimum holiday entitlement, yet it appears they rejected a proposal to raise it to six weeks

Known for their work ethic, the Swiss appeared to heed warnings from government and business that more vacation would put the economy at risk.

As Europeans struggles to control debt through layoffs, wage cuts and tax increases, campaign group Travail.Suisse has argued more break time is needed because of workplace stress.

Many other Europeans get four weeks’ minimum.

The initiative was put forward by trade union Travail.Suisse, which argued that four weeks holiday was insufficient because the pressure of work had increased so much in recent decades, causing rising stress and health problems.

Swiss television said initial figures showed the proposal had been rejected by a clear 67 percent of voters.

Travail.Suisse said the referendum had taken place at a bad time due to serious economic concerns surrounding the euro zone crisis.

‘For many voters, it was understandable that current concerns about their own jobs took precedence over the long-term welfare of people and Swiss business,’ it said in a statement.

‘With their fear-mongering campaign, the opponents of the initiative played with the uncertainty of workers.’

The main employers’ association, which had lobbied hard against the proposal, welcomed the result.

‘The “no” to the holiday initiative means above all a “yes” to the maintenance of the competitiveness of Swiss companies and the securing of jobs,’ it said in a statement.

It had argued that longer holidays would hurt firms already battling to cope with the impact of the safe-haven franc that has soared since the financial crisis, driven in particular by investors fleeing the euro zone.

In 2002, Swiss voters rejected a proposal to cut the working week to 36 hours from 42 hours.

Referendums are central to Switzerland’s political system of direct democracy, and have been held on topics ranging from health insurance to smoking bans.