Sexual equality: motion on gender identity rejected (cross-border guide)

Context

In brief

• The Council of States rejected the motion by 25 votes to 19.
• The request concerned sexual orientation and gender identity.
• The two organizations criticize the decision by the Council of States.
• The organizations announce a renewed commitment in workplaces.

Key facts

• Decision → rejected by the Council of States
• Vote → 25 votes to 19
• Request → extend the protection of the Gender Equality Act
• Scope → discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity
• Organizations → Gruppo Donne USS Ticino e Moesa, Imbarco Immediato
• Location → Bellinzona

In Bellinzona, the Gruppo Donne of the Swiss Trade Union Federation Ticino and Moesa and the Association Imbarco Immediato reacted to the decision by the Council of States to reject the motion calling for the protection of the Gender Equality Act to be explicitly extended to discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

The motion was rejected by 25 votes to 19. The two organizations describe this as “profoundly disappointing” and argue that, under current legislation, people who experience discrimination at work because of their sexual orientation or gender identity do not benefit from the same protection provided by the Gender Equality Act.

Consequences identified by the organizations

According to the statement, this gap can affect access to employment, employment conditions, career prospects and dignity in the workplace. During the parliamentary debate, add Gruppo Donne USS Ticino e Moesa and Imbarco Immediato, the existence of discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity was acknowledged. In their view, however, Parliament chose not to close this legislative gap.

The organizations also dispute the idea that protection against discrimination can be limited to traditionally recognized categories. “The fight against gender discrimination cannot therefore stop at the boundaries of a binary conception of gender,” they state.

In the statement, the failure to give the green light is described as “a missed opportunity” to bring legislation into line with the reality of the world of work and society. It also recalls that the Social Security and Health Committee of the Council of States had acknowledged that including sexual orientation in the Gender Equality Act would have made it possible to put into practice, in employment relationships, protection already recognized by the Federal Constitution.

“There is no real equality if some people are left outside the protection of the law.”

Finally, the two organizations announce that they will continue their efforts in workplaces, in collective agreements, in collective bargaining and at the political level.

Operational details

What changes for the world of work

The decision described in the source leaves open the issue raised by the two organizations: the protection provided by the Gender Equality Act, in their view, does not apply in the same way to discrimination related to sexual orientation and gender identity. The practical issue therefore concerns the employment relationship at several stages, from access to employment through career development and dignity in the workplace.

The issue is not limited to the possibility of obtaining a job. The organizations also mention employment conditions and career development, together with dignity in the workplace. The gap described in the statement therefore spans several stages of the professional relationship, as listed by the associations and trade unions.

Two levels of protection invoked in the debate

The discussion arising from the decision can be viewed on two levels. On the one hand, there is the protection already provided by the Gender Equality Act for traditionally recognized categories. On the other, there is a demand to make protection for sexual orientation and gender identity explicit. The motion was specifically intended to fill this gap in the legislation.

The Social Security and Health Committee of the Council of States, the source recalls, had recognized that including sexual orientation in the Gender Equality Act would have given concrete effect, in employment relationships, to protection already recognized by the Federal Constitution. Parliament instead rejected the motion. For Gruppo Donne USS Ticino e Moesa and Imbarco Immediato, this choice fails to bring legislation into line with the reality of the world of work and society.

The protection, the organizations argue, should not depend «on whom one loves or how one lives one’s identity». Their criticism therefore also concerns the criterion used to define equality: if some people remain outside the protection of the law, equality is not complete.

The source indicates that the issue will continue to be addressed in workplaces, collective agreements, collective bargaining and at the political level. Trade unions and professional associations intend to act in these areas to create tools that guarantee the same rights and the same dignity. To follow the issue of work in Switzerland, annunci di lavoro and information on busta paga svizzera can be consulted.

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Key points

The next initiatives indicated

The statement from the two organizations indicates the areas in which their commitment will continue: workplaces, collective agreements, bargaining and the political sphere. According to the source, these are the areas in which trade unions and trade associations intend to build tools capable of guaranteeing the same rights and the same dignity.

To follow the announced line, the reader can focus on these four areas. The first is the workplace, where the issue is brought back to professional relationships. The second concerns collective agreements. The third is bargaining, indicated separately in the statement. The fourth is the political sphere, in which the organizations intend to continue taking action after the motion was rejected.

Mobilization on multiple fronts

The announced strategy is not limited to a single level. Work, collective agreements, bargaining and politics are presented together as the areas in which to achieve full protection against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

This means that the declared commitment does not end with the decision of the Council of States. Gruppo Donne USS Ticino e Moesa and Imbarco Immediato assure that they will continue their work to obtain protection without exceptions and without blind spots. Their action is therefore positioned simultaneously within employment relationships, collective instruments and political debate.

The final message from the two organizations is clear: «An equality law must protect all people who experience discrimination, without exceptions and without blind spots». The request is thus transferred from the parliamentary vote to the places where, according to the statement, trade unions and trade associations can build tools to guarantee the same rights and the same dignity.

For those who want to understand the economic tools related to work in Switzerland, the next step is to consult calcolatore stipendio.

Source: tio.ch