Suspect is detained in Switzerland’s deadly apartment fire; gender pay gap is still an issue in Swiss workplaces; plus other news in our roundup this Tuesday.
Suspect detained in a deadly apartment fire in Graubünden
One person – about whom no details have been revealed at this time – has been detained on Monday in a criminal investigation into an apartment fire on August 21st in Thusis, which claimed the lives of four foreign nationals.
“The criminal investigation is currently directed at one individual,” local police said.
They added that “multiple counts of negligent homicide and multiple counts of negligent bodily injury were being considered” against the suspect. (AFP)
Switzerland’s gender pay gap persists – but is dropping
According to the Federal Statistical Office (FSO), the current gap of 15 percent represents the difference of 640 francs a month, to the detriment of female employees.
Across the economy as a whole, however, the gender pay gap “continued to gradually decrease,” the FSO reported on Monday.
As a comparison, it stood at 15.7 percent in 2024, 16.5 percent two years earlier, and 19 percent in 2018.
Zurich Parliament wants to ban headscarves in schools
Female students and teachers Zurich will no longer be allowed to wear headscarves, after the cantonal Parliament approved a motion to this effect.
It must now draft a ban on religious head coverings in schools and kindergartens.
This motion is the brainchild of the the Swiss People’s Party (SVP) and the Liberal-Radical party, (FDP ), along with parts of the Green Liberals (GLP) and the Evangelical People’s Party (EVP), which helped the motion achieve a majority.
The SVP said that supporters of the move view the headscarf as a symbol of oppression. Schools, they argued, must be places of free development and free from religions that impose different rules on girls and on boys.
The government now has two years to submit a report and proposal to the Parliament in this matter.
Large cars and trucks may no longer be allowed on the Furka shuttle train
From November 1st, vehicles such as trucks and motorhomes could be banned from the Furka Tunnel.
That’s because, for safety reasons, the Matterhorn Gotthard Railway, which transports cars through the tunnel linking Oberwald (Valais) with Realp (Uri), or vice-versa, plans to exclude vehicles over 3.05 metres in height from the car-carrying train.
The Federal Office of Transport still has to decide in this matter.
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