gee its not just US

[GURPS]

Swiss Industry Group President Says Minimum Wage Would Cost Jobs


Switzerland should reject a proposal to introduce a national minimum wage because companies would have to cut jobs to pay for the increased wage bill, Hans Hess, President of industry body Swissmem, said.

“When you just do what the initiative wants, a 4,000 franc ($4,313) monthly minimum wage, companies can’t afford that and jobs will be lost,” Hess said at a conference in Fribourg, about 160 kms (99 miles) drive from the capital Zurich.
Swiss workers cost 10 times more than their Romanian or Chinese counterparts, he said. Swiss unemployment rose to 3.2 percent in May from 3.1 percent in April. Euro-area unemployment increased to a record 12.2 percent in April.

 

[FreedomFan]

While it is true that many European countries do not have government-mandated minimum wages, wages in many countries there are set by the equivalent of collective bargaining agreements, aka unions. There are "contract prices" for virtually all positions, at least what we in the U.S. would call "the trades" or non-professional jobs.

I don't know about Switzerland in particular, this is how it was in Germany.

 

[czygvtwkr]

IDK about Switzerland but in France every job is "a good job" as far as benefits go. They get a ton of vacation, there are way more than the 13 government holidays that we have, and it is much harder to get fired. But....unemployment is so high because everyone is very careful not to hire someone they may not need. Go to a restaurant and you will see way less wait staff than in an equivalent restaurant here and they are busting their asses, and often being yelled at by the chef/cook/owner the whole time.

Not sure unemployment that never dips below 12% is worth the trade off though. Unemployment for the younger workers is often in the 20-30% range.