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The inhabitants of Geneva, Switzerland, voted this Sunday in favor of proposing a minimum wage of 23 Swiss francs an hour – the equivalent of about 21.3 euros – for everyone who works in the city, one of the most expensive in the world. . The measure will take effect from mid-October.
Geneva is one of the most expensive cities in the world, renting a two-room apartment for around 3,000 francs (approx. 2777 euros) and a coffee that costs between 4 and 5 francs (between 3.70 and 4.60 euros).
Now, according to “La Vanguardia”, the minimum wage will be 4,086 Swiss francs per month for 42 hours of work per week, approximately 3785 euros, the highest in the world. The measure is, however, a rarity in the country: only three cantons out of a total of 26 adopted the minimum wage; besides Geneva, also Jura and Neuchâtel. The cantonal executive and the center and right parties asked to reject the proposal.
Voting has had several setbacks in the past. In 2014, voters voted against the introduction of a minimum wage for the entire confederation. It took three times in Geneva for the supporters of this social measure to finally convince 58% of the electorate, about 500 thousand voters, according to official results released Sunday.
Left-wing parties and unions presented the measure as a form of fight against poverty and precariousness. The new coronavirus pandemic is hitting the city hard, which relies heavily on tourism, business travel, and the comings and goings of thousands of diplomats, experts and other key officials visiting the many UN agencies based in Geneva.
Poverty is increasingly visible and it is no longer unusual to find long lines to receive food or other basic necessities. Near 17 thousand workers would earn less today than this minimum wage, according to various unions, which claim that two out of three are women.
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