Court overturns minimum wages in Zurich and Winterthur
Cantons are permitted to introduce a minimum wage as a socio-political measure within certain limits.
Keystone / Gaetan Bally
Select your language
Generated with artificial intelligence.
Listening: Court overturns minimum wages in Zurich and Winterthur
The administrative court of canton Zurich has annulled the ordinance on the introduction of a municipal minimum wage in the Swiss cities of Zurich and Winterthur. It said the ordinances violated cantonal law.
This content was published on
2 minutes
Keystone-SDA
Deutsch
de
Verwaltungsgericht hebt Mindestlöhne in Zürich und Winterthur auf
Original
According to a press release issued by Zurich administrative court on Friday, the cantons are permitted to introduce a minimum wage as a socio-political measure within certain limits under the case law of the Federal Court.
The minimum wages provided for in the cities of Zurich and Winterthur are within the permissible limits and are compatible with economic freedom and the principle of the primacy of federal law.
However, the court argued that neither the constitution of canton Zurich nor the cantonal social welfare law allowed the municipalities to intervene in private employment relationships to prevent poverty. The ordinances were therefore in breach of cantonal law. The court upheld the appeals lodged against this. The ruling is not yet legally binding.
In June 2023, voters in the city of Zurich and Winterthur clearly approved the introduction of municipal minimum wages. In Zurich, the minimum wage should have been CHF23.90 ($27.10) per hour, in Winterthur CHF23. In the run-up to the vote, opponents also expressed legal concerns.
This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo.ch we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate it into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles.
If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here, if you want to learn more about how we use technology, click here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to english@swissinfo.ch.
Popular Stories
More
Swiss Politics
Swiss reject plans for bigger motorways and extra rights for landlords
Black Friday gets off to a slow start in Swiss shops
This content was published on
Black Friday has established itself as one of the biggest shopping events in Switzerland in recent years. On Friday, however, business was rather slow, especially in the stores.
This content was published on
The invasive Japanese beetle has been discovered in Valais, southwestern Switzerland. The canton now wants to stop the spread of the voracious plant pest.
Nominal Swiss wages up 1.5% in 2024, says latest estimate
This content was published on
Wages in Switzerland are likely to have risen slightly more in 2024 than previously assumed. However, some of this is likely to be eaten up by inflation.
CERN ends cooperation with institutes from Russia and Belarus
This content was published on
The cooperation agreement between CERN and Russia and Belarus will be terminated on Saturday, as previously announced. The move is a reaction to the Russian military invasion of Ukraine.
Swiss private bank Lombard Odier charged with serious money laundering
This content was published on
The Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland has charged the private bank Lombard Odier and a former employee with serious money laundering.
This content was published on
The Swiss Air Force wants to halve the number of its demonstrations and exhibitions to save money. Participation abroad is planned only in exceptional cases from the beginning of 2025.
Updated free trade deal between Switzerland and China set for 2025
This content was published on
The enhanced free trade agreement between Switzerland and China is set to enter into force in 2025. This is the assumption of parliamentarian Thomas Aeschi, president of the EU-EFTA delegation.
Swiss government sees no need for special law on Sarco suicide capsule
This content was published on
Following the first use of the Sarco assisted suicide capsule in Switzerland in September, the government sees no need for legislative action for the time being.
This content was published on
The top three places of Switzerland's biggest fortunes remain unchanged in 2024, dominated by the co-owner of the Parisian label Chanel.
Swiss museum returns dhulu to Australian aboriginal community
This content was published on
The Basel Museum of Cultures officially has returned a dhulu, a carved tree, to the Gamilaraay aboriginal community in Australia.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.