Open letter on the implementation of the healthcare initiative: Federal Council behaves “undignified and unconstitutional”

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The words, addressed to Federal President and Minister of Health Alain Berset (51), are clear: “It is incomprehensible and incomprehensible that the Federal Council, almost two years after the acceptance of the healthcare initiative, is still not doing anything about the people’s mandate , which was clearly stated in Article 197, paragraph 13 2 of the Federal Constitution, was ignored and the clear voting result was treated with contempt.”

They were written by Zug Green National Councilor Manuela Weichelt (56) and by former National Councilor and President of the Swiss Association for Senior Citizens (SVS), Rudolf Joder (73). And these words are in an open letter to the entire Federal Council.

According to the Federal Constitution, the Federal Council would have been obliged to take effective measures to solve the shortage of qualified nurses within 18 months of the adoption of the nursing initiative.

“The eighteen months are over and the Federal Council has not yet taken any effective measures,” Weichelt summarizes. The state government’s unconstitutional actions would jeopardize the safety and quality of care. “That is irresponsible,” she says. And Joder doubles down: “The Federal Council does nothing and does not even justify its inaction. This is absolutely unacceptable in a democracy like Switzerland.”

The two refer to the Federal Council’s response to a motion and a corresponding question from Weichelt at the end of September during the autumn session. In it, the Federal Council took the position that there was little room for immediate action. And: the development of transitional legislation, which would have only been in force for a short time anyway, would have cost too many resources and significantly delayed the development of the implementation message.

But it is not acceptable for politicians that the outgoing Minister of Health tries to use this excuse to get out of the matter. This is ‘unworthy’ of a state government, they write. Even if Berset clearly doesn’t want to break any more ropes before he leaves, he is obliged to take action.

According to the Labor Code, the Federal Council would at any time have the authority to improve working conditions for nursing staff with overtime, night work, shift work, Sunday work and the maximum weekly working hours through a regulation with immediate measures. In this way, he would at least try to obey the will of the people and alleviate the most serious consequences of the nurse shortage.

“The transitional provisions would allow the Federal Council to formulate time-limited standards until the legal provisions come into force. “It would be a very important signal for nurses and institutions that the Federal Council wants to help solve the staffing problem,” says Joder.

Federal law introduced in spring 2024

The only thing left, if the response to the letter is again unsatisfactory and the Federal Council continues to comply with the constitution and the law, is an oversight complaint with the Business Audit Commission (GPK), Weichelt says. This will follow immediately if the state government remains inactive.

61 percent of the voting population (and all cantons except Appenzell-Innerrhoden) said yes to the healthcare initiative in November 2021. The first phase of the implementation of the healthcare initiative has already been decided – a training offensive by the federal government and the cantons worth up to one billion francs.

The Federal Council has actually put the second phase on the back burner. He incorporated this into a new federal law on appropriate working conditions in nursing. This federal law should not be implemented until the spring of 2024. It could come into effect in the summer at the earliest. Until then, nothing should change for the nurses. Alain Berset, on the other hand, will no longer be in office.

Source:Blick