Swiss reject minimum wage proposal

GENEVA – Swiss voters overwhelmingly rejected a referendum proposal Sunday to create the world’s highest minimum wage, according to Swiss TV projections.

The idea of creating the world’s highest minimum wage of 22 Swiss francs ($24.70) per hour was criticized by government and business leaders as likely to drive Switzerland’s high costs even higher. Trade unions backed it as a way of fighting poverty in a country that, by some measures, features the world’s highest prices and most expensive cities. But opinion polls indicated that most voters sided with government and business leaders, who argued it would cost jobs and erode economic competitiveness.

Switzerland currently has no minimum wage, but the median hourly wage is about 33 francs ($37) an hour.

Adjusted for its high prices, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said Switzerland’s wage proposal would have represented about $14 an hour based on a 42-hour work week.