On Sunday, Swiss voters in canton Fribourg rejected an initiative by the left and workers’ unions calling for the introduction of a minimum wage. In all, 53.54% voted no, with a turnout of 40.6%. The initiative was opposed by the authorities and business circles. +Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox The legislative initiative entitled “For a minimum wage” sought to enshrine in the Employment and Labour Market Act a mandatory minimum wage of CHF23 ($28.65) per hour, or CHF4,000 per month. The initiative committee’s objective was clear: “To enable all employees to earn a living wage”. The cantonal government, however, took the opposite view, seeing the introduction of a statutory minimum wage for people over 18 as a threat to the Fribourg economy. It considered the initiative to be “extreme”, arguing that the introduction of such an instrument would risk “disrupting the proper functioning of the labour market”. Had it accepted the initiative, Fribourg would …