Service Citizen Initiative: Women should join the military too

Already in 2020, in the middle of the corona pandemic, the ‘Observer’ discussed the proposal for a Citoyen Service. The idea of ​​coming closer together was very popular in social debates. Everyone should work for everyone. Now, more than three years later, the initiative has been established with more than 100,000 signatures. The association submitted it to the Federal Chancellery on October 26.

However, it is still unclear how the civilian service would be organized in detail. The initiators hope that some of the questions can be clarified during the parliamentary debate.

The Citoyen Service would replace the military, civil and civilian defense services. For example, women and men could serve in the fire brigade, in agriculture or, as is currently the case, in the military. This is one of the strengths of the civilian service, says Noémie Roten. Especially in sectors where there is a shortage of skilled workers today, there is a need for young people to provide social services.

One of the unclear details is the duration of the deployment. If the initiators had their way, it would take six months. That would be a lot shorter than military service, which lasts about eight months.

Recruitment should be like in the military. At the age of 18, all people with a Swiss passport receive an invitation to the information day. Women and men who are already past this age and have not served would be exempt. “I can imagine that it will be difficult to recruit people retroactively,” says initiator Roten.

Military service, community service and civil protection are now covered by the income compensation (EO) scheme. All employees and employers pay half of the contributions to the compensation fund. During their period of service, employees receive 80 percent of their old salary through the EO. According to the Federal Ministry of the Interior (EDI), the EO only accounts for about 1 percent of the total costs of social insurance. In 2021, EO expenditure amounted to 1.9 billion francs. If mandatory community service were introduced, these costs would increase. How much and who would cover the costs should become clear when the initiative is implemented, says Noémie Roten.

The group for a Switzerland without an army (GSoA) is clearly positioning itself against the initiative of the Service Citoyen association. She criticizes, among other things, the use of young people in education and in nursing professions. There is a risk that, for example, a hospital would rather hire cheap citizens than pay specialist staff fairly. “The initiative risks increasing wage dumping,” the GSoA wrote in a statement about the initiative in 2022. Overall, community service risks strengthening the military for all: “More people than before would be forced into service at one of their most important stages of life.”

Yes. The exact date of the vote is not yet known. Up to three years can pass through the parliamentary processes, drafting the law or drafting a possible counter initiative. The population will probably have to wait until 2027 to vote on the initiative.