Direct democracy will be in action again this Sunday when all Swiss citizens will be invited to share their opinions on the following subjects.
Minimum Wage:
The initiative calls for a minimum wage of CHF 4000.-, regardless of region or work sector. This would be a huge change as there is no current minimum wage and various sectors have been applying their own rules of thumb.
Those in favour, point out that one in every ten employee earns less than CHF 22.- an hour, this does not cover the costs of living so often the government has to offer financial aid. They argue that it has been shown that in sectors where there has been an increase in wages, there has also been an increase in productivity.
Those against it argue that were a minimum wage be put into place this would lead to a massive reduction of jobs, as lots of small businesses would not be able to afford this and would have to close down. Also they feel that making this a national rule is silly as the cost of living between cantons varies greatly.
Protection against Pedophiles.
This is a highly emotionally charged referendum calling for a life long ban on pedophiles working with children. Anyone who has been arrested for having sexually molested a child would never be allowed to work with children.
Those in favour argue that this is the most effective way of keeping children out of harm’s way. Currently the ruling states that a ten year ban should be applied if there is a minimum sentencing of six months, which they feel is not enough and pedophiles who get charged with a lesser sentence are free to continue working with children.
Those against this argue that the new ruling is too vague, not taking into account the individual circumstances of each case. They also argue that it is possible to apply a lifelong ban and extend the ten year ban within the current legislation.
General Practitioners Initiative
Doctors put forward an initiative asking for more recognition of their difficulties namely, in being sufficiently recognised within the health system and the lack of young doctors to take over their businesses upon retirement. Parliament has put forward a counter offer which is now being voted on.
Those in favour say that this new initiative is asking both the parliament and cantons to put in place actions to help boost the numbers of GPs. This would ensure that everyone would have access to good medical coverage, include people living in more remote areas.
It is mainly the SVP who is against this initiative, they criticize the government’s health politics lack of direction. They feel that there is a general lack of coordination across the cantons that would be put even more in jeopardy should this referendum be put voted through.
The Gripen Planes
This issue has been in the news for many many months now and concerns the swiss army’s aging planes and their replacement with 22 Swedish Gripen planes. They would keep the swiss air space secure and cost CHF 3,126 Billion which would be financed from the swiss military to the tune of CHF 300 million a year until 2024.
Those in favour argue for the need for national security which would be provided by these planes, as the current fleet will soon (2030) be out of use.
Those against it say that the Swiss Army is sufficiently well equipped and this is a lot of money to be wasting on new planes, also they say that they are unsure that the Gripen is the right plane to be purchasing.
On a local level the referendums are on the financing of stipendiums for students in Luzern and creating an association to unite the various old folk homes and residences within the city.
