Pregnancy results in several months' lost wages

At the latest since the containment of 2020, wide circles have become aware that independent musicians are poorly protected in the event of concert or performance cancellations. At the time, assistance for coronavirus-related situations was granted, and attempts were made to mitigate the catastrophic loss of earnings for artists. Less well known is the fact that all it takes is one pregnancy to cause a comparable loss of earnings.

In early September, the Federal Council recommended rejecting the motion "Pregnant women at work. Closing the gaps, maternity protection for all workers", deeming that there was no need for action. It should take a look at the existing situation in the music industry once in a while!

Pregnant women benefit from special protection in the workplace. If they can no longer perform their usual work because it is too arduous or too dangerous, their employer must offer them equivalent alternative work. In addition, a ban on working after 8 p.m. applies from eight weeks before the birth. If the employer is unable to offer equivalent alternative work, pregnant women must be released and receive 80% of their salary. Daily sickness benefit insurance does not apply in this case, as pregnancy is not an illness!

For us musicians, this means we can no longer work eight weeks before giving birth. Strict compliance with the noise limit value of 85 dB(A) - to protect the unborn child - laid down in the Maternity Protection Act can also lead to work bans lasting several months.

For permanent employees, this is no immediate problem. Especially if they are subject to a good collective bargaining agreement, and benefit in part from regulations that go beyond legal requirements. However, many musicians are self-employed.

Freelancers are the backbone of Switzerland's musical cultural life. No choral concert or festival can do without them. Even professional orchestras depend on them when presenting large-scale programs, when orchestra members are ill or when vacancies arise. They are hired on a project basis, but are not considered freelancers, as they don't usually organize their own concerts. Pregnant women are simply no longer employed, at least not for the last few months.

All that's left to do is register with the ORP and apply for unemployment benefit. However, insured unemployed persons who are unable to work due to illness, accident or pregnancy are only entitled to full unemployment benefit up to the 30th day.

The conditions for receiving maternity benefits after the birth are, however, to have an employment contract, official self-employed status, or to meet the conditions for receiving daily allowances from the CA. In other words, self-employed women are unlikely to receive maternity benefits. For them, the law on maternity protection, which rightly guarantees the health of the mother-to-be and her unborn child, means a total loss of salary for months on end.

I find it hard to imagine that in other sectors with a high proportion of female intermittent workers, the situation is any different from that of female musicians. The motion recommended for rejection by the Federal Council calls for no exclusion from unemployment insurance during pregnancy, an increase in the number of daily unemployment benefits available to pregnant unemployed women in the event of incapacity to work for medical reasons, and for continued payment of wages to be covered by loss-of-earnings allowances in the event of a doctor's ban on employment.

This motion is currently being dealt with by the Council of States. I sincerely hope that the Upper House will see the need for action!

French horn player Hanna Rasche is a permanent member of the Philharmonia Zürich and a member of the USDAM union and the Parenting Center at the Zurich Opera House.

A few details about the motion, which the Federal Council is proposing to reject, quoted in the above article by Hanna Rasche.

On June 13, on the initiative of the USDAM and other unions, and with the support of the USS, State Councillor Flavia Wasserfallen tabled a motion entitled "Pregnant women at work. Closing the gaps, maternity protection for all workers", aimed at instructing the Federal Council to adapt legal provisions so that :

- pregnant women can no longer reach the end of their unemployment insurance entitlement;

- pregnant women are entitled to more unemployment insurance benefits in the event of incapacity for work for medical reasons;

- continued payment of salary is covered by loss-of-earnings benefits in the event of a medical ban on employment.

These adjustments are urgently needed to provide better protection for pregnant musicians who, on the basis of sound pressure measurements in orchestras, are affected by a ban on working under the Maternity Protection Ordinance.

Despite the problems arising from the current legal situation, the Federal Council issued a negative opinion on September 4. For the time being, the motion has been referred to the Social Security and Public Health Committee of the Council of States for preliminary examination.