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Zurich - Swiss business leaders shocked by past popular votes to cap executive pay and curb immigration are wary of a 18 May referendum that could see Switzerland adopt the world's highest minimum wage of nearly $25 an hour.
A recent opinion poll by gfs.bern found 64% of voters reject the proposal, made by the SGB union and supported by the Socialist and Green parties. But Switzerland's system of direct democracy, with frequent popular votes on social, political or economic matters, has brought surprises before.
The Swiss unexpectedly voted in February to curb immigration from the European Union - Switzerland's biggest trading partner, with which it now shares free movement of labour - ignoring warnings from business that such a move would hurt the economy.
Shareholders
"I'm feeling uneasy about the upcoming vote," said Ralph Mueller, division head at electronic components maker Schurter.
"We would have to significantly raise the salaries in our factory in Mendrisio, where about 80 of our 100 workers commute from Italy, but we would also have to raise the wages of our higher-paid staff. It would cost about $253 000 a year.
Swiss voters overwhelmingly rejected a proposal in November to cap the salaries of top executives at 12 times that of their company's lowest earner, but they did back a plan last year to give company shareholders the final say on pay and incentives.
The State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (Seco) says the proposed minimum wage of $25.13 an hour would be the world's highest even when adjusted for purchasing power in notoriously expensive Switzerland.
Minimum
The economically liberal country does not currently have a nationwide minimum wage.
Pay is determined by individual employment contracts or via collective bargaining agreements, some of which also set industry-specific minimum wages.
The proposed minimum wage would correspond to a monthly paycheck of about $4 500, almost two-thirds of Switzerland's median salary in 2012, and a higher ratio than in most other countries, Seco said.
Germany's planned minimum wage of $11.83, for example, is about half its median salary.
Personal
The government opposes a minimum wage, warning in February that it "would threaten jobs and make it even more difficult for little qualified staff and young people to find a first job".
Supporters say it would help smooth out salary inequalities and ensure a person working full time can live decently.
In 2012, according to the federal statistics office, 10% of full-time or equivalent Swiss jobs paid less than two-thirds of the median salary, with lower paid jobs found mainly in shops, hotels and personal services. Of 339 000 people on a low salary, two out of three were women.
