Switzerland’s sometimes delicate balance between federal authority and cantonal autonomy is once again under strain. The Swiss Trade Union Federation (USS) has issued a stark warning: if the federal parliament proceeds with draft legislation that would curtail cantonal minimum wage laws, it will resist the measure with all available means, reported RTS.
The controversy stems from a 2022 motion by Erich Ettlin, a centrist senator from Obwalden, calling for extended collective labour agreements (CCTs) to take precedence over cantonal minimum wage rules—where both exist. Parliament backed the motion, and the Federal Council, though reluctant, has since drafted the necessary legislation. In April, the National Council’s relevant committee endorsed the proposal.
The USS fears the change would amount to a legalised pay cut for thousands of low-wage workers. If the bill becomes law, it warns, many of these workers would no longer earn enough to support themselves and could become reliant on supplementary benefits or social assistance—costs ultimately borne by the public. The union has branded the proposal both “anti-social” and “anti-democratic”.
Opposition to the move is strongest in French-speaking Switzerland, where several cantons have already adopted minimum wage laws. An association of Western Swiss Governments, which includes Bern, condemned the proposal in April as an assault on cantonal autonomy and an affront to the will of voters in the region.
Minimum wages are already in force in Geneva, Neuchâtel, Jura, Basel-City and Ticino. Initiatives are advancing in Vaud and Fribourg, and municipal wage floors have been introduced in Zurich, Winterthur and Lucerne. The cantons argue that such policies reflect local economic realities and enjoy clear popular support.
Pierre-Yves Maillard, president of the USS and a former Vaud government councillor, sees the bill as democratic overreach. What justification is there for a federal law to overturn a popular vote in Geneva? he asked at a press conference in Bern. Who in Obwalden, Zug or Zurich is inconvenienced by Geneva’s minimum wage? The answer is: no one, he said.
Switzerland’s federal system, Mr Maillard insists, is built on subsidiarity—decisions should be made at the level closest to citizens, provided they do no harm to others. On that basis, the unions argue, Geneva’s minimum wage should be left untouched.
Whether Parliament shares that view remains to be seen. What is clear, however, is that any attempt to standardise labour policy risks running headlong into the complexities of Swiss federalism.
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