This week, Switzerland’s National Council (parliament) approved a new framework for supporting childcare through an allowance scheme targeting parents with children up to the age of eight, reported RTS.
While the proposal largely mirrors the version endorsed by the Council of States, notable differences remain—chiefly regarding the role of the federal government.
Under the plan, the allowance would be funded jointly by cantons and employers to ease the financial burden on working parents using formal childcare facilities, such as nurseries or after-school programmes. The scheme would also cover parents in education or vocational training, even if they are not formally employed.
The minimum monthly allowance would be CHF 100, with an additional CHF 50 granted for each extra half-day of care.
For children with disabilities, the Council of States had proposed that support be increased by 1.5 to 2 times the base amount to reflect the higher cost of specialised care. The National Council, in a more generous move, raised this to 1.5 to 3 times.
The question of how the scheme should be funded remains contentious, with some arguing for more federal funding. A parliamentary majority supported allocating CHF 200 million of federal funding over four years through so-called programme agreements, in which the federal government co-finances cantonal initiatives, such as expanding childcare capacity or improving support for children with disabilities. The proposal now goes beyond current federal commitments.
The Council of States, however, prefers a leaner solution—adopting the allowance while scrapping programme agreements to preserve federal finances. This means the plan will need to return to the Council of States for further discussion.
The proposal currently working its way through federal government is a counterproposal to the Socialists’ nursery initiative, which calls for universal childcare provision from three months of age until the end of compulsory schooling.
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RTS article (in French) – Take a 5 minute French test now
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