Cantons oppose federal plans: will cantonal minimum wages be limited?

class=”sc-cffd1e67-0 iQNQmc”>

Basel-Stadt, Geneva, Jura, Neuchâtel, Ticino – they all already know it: the cantonal minimum wage. The left and the unions made the demand a success through cantonal referenda. Minimum wage requirements could be added in other cantons.

Similar initiatives have been presented in Freiburg and Valais. And in Solothurn this week a referendum was passed calling for 23 francs gross per hour of work as the legal minimum wage. For 42 hours of work per week, this corresponds to a gross monthly wage of just under 4,200 francs.

Minimum wages under fire

Not exactly luxurious! The average wage in this country is 6,788 francs, as shown by the latest wage statistics. Nevertheless, the cantonal minimum wages are under fire: the federal parliament wants to reduce the cantonal regulations. At least if the social partners agree on lower wages in a collective labor agreement (GAV) and the Federal Council declares the GAV generally binding – i.e. mandatory for the entire sector.

A middle-class majority in both the National Council and the Council of States approved a motion by the middle State Councilor Erich Ettlin (61, OW). Not only against the resistance of the left, but also against that of the Federal Council. SVP Minister of Economic Affairs Guy Parmelin (64) warned in vain that such a far-reaching intervention would be problematic in terms of democracy and federalism.

The cantons are in turmoil

This is now driving the cantons to the barricades. In the current consultation they attack the new law. “In addition to the unconstitutional interference with cantonal autonomy and the violation of the principle of legality, the proposed change lacks practical suitability,” the Conference of Economic Directors criticized in its statement, as CH Media newspapers report. The proposal “does not take into account the will of the people”, the French-speaking Swiss Intergovernmental Conference has previously defended itself against the request.

The Conference of Social Directors complains that a minimum wage is a social policy measure to combat poverty, especially among the working poor. The planned change in the law would “most likely” lead to a decline in wages in low-wage sectors such as hotels, restaurants, personnel leasing, cleaning and the hairdressing industry.

A few hundred francs less

The cantons of Geneva and Neuchâtel would currently be subject to the federal requirement. But the improvements achieved in the low-wage sector would again be reversed. A calculation by the Unia trade union shows what the proposal would mean for employees. If the cantonal minimum wage falls, a hairdresser in Geneva will receive several hundred to a thousand francs less per month. In Neuchâtel she loses up to 400 francs a month.

Such a drop in wages “would have a significant impact on the living conditions of the affected workers and ultimately on social security,” the social directors explain their rejection. The consultation runs until May 1. Until then, the federal government will likely face a lot of criticism.

Source:Blick