Zurich voters passed a minimum hourly wage, the latest effort in Switzerland to ensure people can live on their salaries.
About 73% in the Swiss financial hub backed the measure for 23.90 Swiss francs ($26.74) per hour, according to preliminary government results. In Winterthur, a formerly blue-collar town near Zurich, almost 64% supported a similar proposal for 23 francs.
Traditionally, wages in Switzerland are negotiated by collective bargaining, with agreements covering pay, vacation days, and even retirement age. A nationwide proposal for 22 francs an hour was broadly rejected in a 2014 vote — also in the canton of Zurich, in which both cities are located.
So far, five of 26 Swiss cantons set minimum wages ranging from 19.50 francs in Ticino to 24 francs in Geneva, placing Sunday’s municipal proposals among the highest in the country.
Separate national votes saw an introduction of the 15% OECD minimum tax for multinational corporations and officially setting the goal to become climate neutral by 2050, according to initial data.
