Council of States rejects national day for family caregivers
Published: Monday, Dec 18th 2023, 17:51
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The Council of States does not want the Federal Council to designate a national day for family caregivers on October 30. The small chamber rejected a motion by Pierre-Yves Maillard (SP/VD) on Monday by 24 to 15 with 4 abstentions.
The matter is therefore off the table. The Council thus followed its Committee for Social Security and Health (SGK-S), which had previously proposed rejecting the motion by nine votes to three.
It is not the task of the Federal Council to designate national days, said rapporteur Damian Müller (FDP/LU). The Commission report also pointed out that organizations can set such days themselves. The Commission also noted that such a precedent would raise the issue of equal treatment with other areas of interest.
The Federal Council also requested that the motion be rejected - for the same reasons as the SGK-S: it was not its responsibility to designate national days. The Day of the Sick, for example, was initiated by the supporting association of the same name. The launch of a national day by the Federal Council was also problematic in view of the equal treatment of other relevant issues.
The National Council adopted the motion in the spring session of 2023.
Eight percent of the population receive private care
According to Maillard, a day for family caregivers would have made it possible to show appreciation to all family caregivers at the highest level. Caring relatives would relieve the burden on public support services, Maillard argued. The amount of help and care they provide at home runs into the billions - without receiving any state support.
On the initiative of the canton of Vaud, the cantons of French-speaking Switzerland joined forces in 2012 to celebrate October 30 as a day of official recognition and thanks to family caregivers. Other cantons followed suit. According to the Federal Council, around 600,000 people in Switzerland are carers - this corresponds to around eight percent of the population.
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