[Switzerland] Basel City becomes latest canton to introduce minimum wage

On June 13 - a year after Geneva - voters in Basel City approved a CHF21 per hour minimum wage. A counter-proposal to a left wing project which initially asked for CHF23, SWI reports.

Citizens in Basel City accepted the proposal with a majority of just under 54 per cent. The slightly higher minimum wage proposed under the initial plan was narrowly rejected by 50.68 per cent.

The new minimum wage in the canton will now be fixed at CHF21 ($23.39) per hour. However, exceptions are expected; for example, for salaries already negotiated through collective bargaining agreements, for internships lasting less than six months, for employees who primarily work abroad and for on-call workers who work less than 70 hours per year.

The project was backed by the left wing social democrats and Greens and opposed by parties from the centre and the right.

Basel City becomes the fifth Swiss canton to introduce a minimum wage and the first in the German-speaking part of the country. Neuchâtel was the first to approve a minimum wage, of CHF20 in 2017. Geneva has the highest wage at CH23 per hour, approved in 2020. Ticino and Jura also have minimum wages.

At the national level, the issue was put before voters in an initiative launched by trade unions in 2014. A resounding 76.3 per cent of Swiss reportedly rejected what would have been the world’s highest nationwide minimum wage of CHF22.

On June 13 - a year after Geneva - voters in Basel City approved a CHF21 per hour minimum wage. A counter-proposal to a left wing project which initially asked for CHF23, SWI reports.

Citizens in Basel City accepted the proposal with a majority of just under 54 per cent. The slightly higher minimum wage proposed under the initial plan was narrowly rejected by 50.68 per cent.

The new minimum wage in the canton will now be fixed at CHF21 ($23.39) per hour. However, exceptions are expected; for example, for salaries already negotiated through collective bargaining agreements, for internships lasting less than six months, for employees who primarily work abroad and for on-call workers who work less than 70 hours per year.

The project was backed by the left wing social democrats and Greens and opposed by parties from the centre and the right.

Basel City becomes the fifth Swiss canton to introduce a minimum wage and the first in the German-speaking part of the country. Neuchâtel was the first to approve a minimum wage, of CHF20 in 2017. Geneva has the highest wage at CH23 per hour, approved in 2020. Ticino and Jura also have minimum wages.

At the national level, the issue was put before voters in an initiative launched by trade unions in 2014. A resounding 76.3 per cent of Swiss reportedly rejected what would have been the world’s highest nationwide minimum wage of CHF22.