Gaps in unemployment insurance coverage for pregnant women will be addressed

At the initiative of the USDAM and other unions, and with the support of the Swiss Trade Union Federation (USS), Bernese Socialist State Councilor Flavia Wasserfallen submitted a motion on June 13, 2024, calling on the Federal Council to amend the legal provisions so that, on the one hand, pregnant women can no longer exhaust their unemployment insurance benefits and, second, that pregnant women are entitled to a greater number of daily unemployment insurance benefitsin the event of incapacity for work due to medical reasons, and that continued salary payments be covered by compensation for loss of earnings in the event of a medical prohibition on working. These changes are urgently needed, particularly to better protect pregnant musicians who, due to noise levels in orchestras, are subject to a work ban under the Maternity Protection Ordinance.

No unanimous vote in Parliament

Opponents of this motion argued that pregnant women are currently covered by insurance on the same basis as the sick and accident victims, and that there is no reason to treat them differently. The Federal Council, however, argued that adopting this motion would lead to unequal treatment and legal problems, and that, moreover, only a small number of women are affected. Despite opposition from the Federal Council and the SVP and FDP parliamentary groups, the Wasserfallen motion was adopted by the National Council by a vote of 103 to 87. The Council of States had already approved it in September 2025 by a vote of 24 to 18, although the relevant committee did not deem it necessary to intervene and argued that most women do not experience significant wage losses during their pregnancy.

Ahead of the vote, Business and Professional Women Switzerland (BPW), the Swiss Federation of Midwives (FSSF), and Alliance F, the nonpartisan umbrella organization for women’s groups, as well as Protestant and Catholic women’s associations, had urged the National Council and the State Council to approve the motion in order to provide women with greater financial security and better career prospects.

Practical Implications of the Adopted Motion

The USS points out that currently, about 500 women lose their entitlement to unemployment insurance (UI) each year—and thus also their entitlement to maternity leave—even though the women in question have paid into the system for years. Preventing them from losing their entitlement to benefits entails only minimal additional costs: 0.12 percent of unemployment insurance expenditures, or 8 million francs out of a total of 7 billion francs. Given a revenue surplus of 1.4 billion francs in 2024, these additional costs are barely noticeable in the unemployment insurance budget, but they are of great importance to the women affected. This prevents them from finding themselves in a precarious situation at a time when they should be preparing for childbirth. Furthermore, Parliament wishes to grant additional daily benefits to unemployed pregnant women in the event of an inability to work. Currently, those affected stop receiving disability benefits after 30 consecutive days and are then left without income. However, these 30 days are quickly exhausted, as pregnant women are, on average, unable to work for six weeks during their pregnancy.

For independent female musicians in particular, the passage of this motion will significantly improve their professional situation. This is a major political victory for Flavia Wasserfallen.