The Swiss will vote in a national referendum May 18 on whether to create a minimum wage of 22 francs ($25) per hour, or 4,000 francs a month. While about 90 percent of workers in Switzerland already earn more than that, employers say setting Switzerland’s first national wage floor would push up salaries throughout the economy. When adjusted for currency and purchasing power, it would be the highest minimum in the world.
As usual, it is unions who are behind the push, in order to protect their members from those willing to work below the union pay scale. Bloomberg reports:
The chief backers of the proposal are Switzerland’s biggest trade unions, which argue that pay levels need to reflect the country’s prices -- among the world’s highest. A poll by researcher gfs.bern released April 11 said 52 percent of voters were likely to reject it, while Leger research firm last month found the same percentage would vote yes...
George Sheldon, professor of economics at the University of Basel, said the Swiss proposal would be counterproductive.
“Unemployment among the unskilled is increasing,” he said in a phone interview. “The solution to their problem can’t be to make them more expensive.”
As the west slits its own throat....
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile in the People's Republik of San Fransisko, the union representing workers for the municipal government are demanding a $21/hr minimum wage:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/matier-ross/article/SEIU-thinks-big-for-S-F-city-workers-next-5399680.php
Absolutely insane.
-- The chief backers of the proposal are Switzerland’s biggest trade unions, which argue that pay levels need to reflect the country’s prices -- among the world’s highest. --
ReplyDeleteNo connection there between higher labor costs and higher prices, right?
-- “Unemployment among the unskilled is increasing,” he [economist George Sheldon] said in a phone interview. “The solution to their problem can’t be to make them more expensive.” --
Well, maybe the solution to everybody's problems in Switzerland is to ship out the unskilled to Poland or Bulgaria, and let the streets clean themselves.
If the wealth gap is not addressed by policy then it will eventually be dealt with by direct action. Increasing min wage is one part of the solution, lowering CEO level pay scales is another. A strong trade union movement is also needed.
ReplyDeleteIt is a simple matter of historical fact that concentration of wealth at the top leads to speculative markets and inevitable busts. Keeping wages low may make companies profitable but it does nothing for the overall economy. Amazing fact: People need money to buy goods and services, which then creates more jobs and so on and so on.
The debt bubble kept things going for a while but that has now burst, so it is time to invest in the skills of the labor force and increase their wages.
Certain 'solutions' listed above amount to little more that latent racism and problem avoidance.
I propose $25/hour for workers, $45/hour for CEO's, and $95/hour for the pigs in the farmhouse. Problem solved.
DeleteHi! Everybody it is high time to solve labor hourly wage problem. So thanks for your most important issue show all of us. new minimum wage Fair labor standard act is working for United state Federal and local law relating labor standards and to help all employer their right and law under role of law. All worker can be conscious about any kind of the labor law to read http://flsa.net/
ReplyDelete