Swiss MPs split over how to achieve disability equality

Swiss MPs Katja Stettler-Riem and Florence Brenzikofer have sharply different views on the state of equality for people with disabilities, SRF reported as the National Council considers an inclusion initiative and a proposed countermeasure.

Stettler-Riem, a Swiss People’s Party MP, rates the current situation at eight or nine out of 10. She said the needs of people with disabilities were already being met relatively well through many public and private services.

Brenzikofer, a Green MP, gave the country a score of only three or four. She said equality remained inadequate, particularly in legal terms, and that urgent improvements were needed.

National Council considers inclusion measures

The National Council is discussing the inclusion initiative and an indirect counterproposal, the Inclusion Act. The measures aim to reduce barriers for people with disabilities in everyday life and during leisure activities.

A majority of the chamber’s responsible committee wants to expand the Inclusion Act approved by the Federal Council. The Swiss People’s Party opposes the legislation and wants either to reject it outright or have it revised. The Federal Council has rejected the inclusion initiative but says equality for people with disabilities has not yet been achieved. It therefore proposes improvements through the indirect counterproposal.

Stettler-Riem said the Federal Council’s and the committee’s proposals would interfere too extensively with private property and private institutions. She said her party did not believe that the measures would achieve genuine equality.

Brenzikofer said people with disabilities faced many obstacles if they wanted to live independently rather than in a residential institution. Whether independent living was feasible often became clear only during implementation, she said. The initiative or an effective counterproposal could help remove those barriers.

One proposed improvement would require apartment buildings to be accessible to people with disabilities.

Discrimination in the workplace

The counterproposal also aims to improve integration into the labour market. Stettler-Riem said it was important to include the issue and to integrate people with disabilities into work processes and companies. However, she said more bureaucracy and consultation meetings were the wrong approach because they would increase costs without creating added value.

Brenzikofer said the economy needed to be given greater responsibility. Many people with disabilities were still discriminated against when looking for work, she said, including during job interviews, where employers often focused first on the disability rather than the person’s professional skills.

She also called for assistance to support people with disabilities and said private employers needed to be engaged more effectively through greater dialogue and cooperation.

Stettler-Riem said the debate was still at an early stage. Her party wanted the Federal Council’s counterproposal to be fundamentally revised to address various concerns.

Brenzikofer said a binding legal framework for people with disabilities was needed. She said 1.9 million people in Switzerland lived with a disability, equivalent to one fifth of the population, and that many relatives were also affected. She was confident the initiative had a chance if it went to a popular vote.