Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2012, published 102nd ILC session (2013)

Minimum Wage-Fixing Machinery Convention, 1928 (No. 26) - Switzerland (Ratification: 1947)

Article 1 of the Convention. Minimum wage rates. Further to its previous comment, the Committee notes the Government’s explanations concerning the protection of posted workers under the Federal Act of 8 October 1999 and the Ordinance of 21 May 2003, and the statistics provided on the number of posted workers to whom the minimum requirements respecting remuneration do not apply, the number of violations related to minimum wages and the number of employers who have been prohibited from offering their services in Switzerland for a period of between one and five years due to serious violations relating to wages.

With reference to the new measures intended to ensure broader coverage of minimum wage levels, the Committee notes the adoption by the Federal Council in October 2010 of the model work contract for workers in the domestic economy (CTT domestic economy). This CTT determines minimum wages for domestic workers engaged by private households. It also notes the entry into force on 1 January 2012 of the collective labour agreement for the temporary work branch, setting new minimum wages to be respected by temporary service enterprises. With regard to the coverage of collective agreements establishing minimum wages, the Government indicates that, in 2011, there were 504 basic collective agreements and 14 regional or enterprise protocols determining minimum wages covering 1,319,100 employed persons. The number of employed persons covered by collective agreements setting out minimum wages in total employment was 31.4 per cent in 2011. Finally, the Committee notes the information that the popular initiative on minimum wages was lodged on 23 January 2012. This initiative calls for the Confederation and the cantons to encourage the inclusion of minimum wages in collective agreements and determines a statutory minimum wage at the national level. The proposed rate is 22 Swiss francs (CHF) an hour and CHF4,000 a month for a 42-hour week, regularly indexed on the basis of fluctuations in wages and prices. Parliament has to decide on the text by 23 June 2014, before it is submitted to a popular vote and to the cantons. While noting this information, the Committee would be grateful if the Government would keep the Office informed of any developments in this respect, and particularly the parliamentary debates on the initiative and the outcome of any referendum in this respect.