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According to projections, the Swiss vote for a higher retirement age for women

2022-09-25T15:40:36.126Z


A referendum in Switzerland has resulted in a slim majority for pensions from 65 for women. A bill on animal welfare, on the other hand, fell through with the voters.


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Voting on pension reform in Switzerland: politicians on the Swiss left react to the first projection

Photo: Peter Klaunzer / dpa

According to projections, the Swiss voted by a slim majority in favor of a controversial pension reform.

In a referendum on Sunday, 51 percent voted in favor of raising the retirement age for women from 64 to 65 and thus adapting it to that of men, according to projections by the opinion research institute gfs.bern.

On the other hand, the voters rejected stricter animal protection measures, which were also put to the vote.

Raising the retirement age has been the most controversial part of pension reform.

In addition, voters were able to decide in a separate vote whether VAT should be increased from 7.7 to 8.1 percent in order to increase the income from the pension system.

According to the projections, approval for this proposal was slightly higher at 56 percent.

In order for the reform to be implemented, voters must agree to both aspects.

It would be the first pension reform in Switzerland for more than 25 years.

The reform aims to secure pensions in the face of an aging population.

If the projections come true, it would be a success for the government in Bern.

In 2004 and 2017, the Swiss government at the time tried to introduce a similar pension reform, but the voters failed.

Parliament had already approved the most important pension reform measures last year.

Supporters of the reform stressed that, given the economic and demographic situation, it is not unreasonable to ask women to work longer hours.

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Left-wing parties and trade unions, on the other hand, criticized the plans as reform “on the backs of women” and forced a referendum.

The project also met with resistance from women.

Opponents argued that there is a significant wage gap between women and men in Switzerland, which means that women receive far lower pensions than men.

It is unfair to raise the retirement age without addressing these issues first.

Samuel Bendahan from the Social Democratic Party (SP) told the public broadcaster RTS that the projections are painful for the left-wing parties and the unions, but above all for those affected.

Meanwhile, according to the projections, a majority of 63 percent of the voters rejected a ban on factory farming.

The animal protection organizations behind the initiative also wanted to enshrine the dignity of farm animals in the constitution and set stricter minimum requirements for animal husbandry.

fla/afp/dpa

Source: spiegel

All news articles on 2022-09-25

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