Voluntary Public Preschool from the First Year of Life. — Problem

Problem

Current policy relies more on longer parental leave or additional vacation instead of expanding childcare services, which exacerbates the shortage of skilled workers.

Discussion

• Isa Gerber (2026-02-05): A longer parental leave, or rather a parity parental leave, relies on a longer vacation but a better start to family life. I would question here whether this exacerbates the shortage of skilled workers. Maybe in the short term, but in the long term, in my opinion, a longer parental leave leads to better compatibility (especially in the long run) and then potentially to higher employment after parental leave. Quite in the sense of: better completely away and then completely back, than half away and half back. Cf. Denmark. Cf. also: those women who only wanted to be away briefly and return quickly usually stay away longer.
• ↳ Oliver Herren (2026-02-17): From my point of view, the proposals complement each other well. Preschool or public daycare only starts from one year old. Before that, a longer and more flexible parental leave is also sensible.