On 9 June 2026, Switzerland’s Federal Supreme Court ruled that the cities of Zürich and Winterthur have the legal authority to set their own minimum wages. This ruling has effectively overturned a cantonal court decision, clearing the way for thousands of low-wage workers, many of them women, to benefit from a pay floor.
“The regulations on social assistance adopted in Zurich do not contradict municipal minimum wage regulations. Their very aim is to prevent the affected “working poor” from having to rely on social assistance,” the ruling said.
In two rulings published on 10 June 2026, the court in Lausanne upheld appeals from both cities, reversing a November 2024 decision by the Zürich Administrative Court that had struck down the measures. The ruling confirms that municipalities in the canton of Zürich are entitled to enact minimum wage regulations without requiring an explicit legal basis in the cantonal constitution.
The new wage floor will primarily benefit workers in cleaning, catering and retail, low-wage sectors where collective employment agreements are often absent or weakly enforced. A significant proportion of workers in these sectors are women.
Zürich And Winterthur To Introduce Minimum Wage After Three Years of Legal Battles
The story begins at the ballot box. On 18 June 2023, voters in both cities approved popular initiatives backing a local minimum wage with strong majorities. 69.4% in favour in Zürich and 65.5% in Winterthur. The Zürich minimum wage was set at CHF 23.90 per hour (equivalent to roughly CHF 4,100–4,300 per month for a full-time worker), while Winterthur set its threshold at CHF 23 per hour.
Despite the clear democratic mandate, the measures never came into force. Business associations challenged both ordinances, and on 29 November 2024, the Zürich cantonal Administrative Court found that local councils lacked the legal authority to intervene in pay agreements between private employers and workers, and struck down both regulations. Both cities appealed to the Federal Supreme Court. That appeal has now succeeded.
The Federal Supreme Court found that the cantonal Administrative Court was wrong: municipalities do not require an explicit constitutional basis to act in this area. The court further held that cantonal social welfare law does not conflict with municipal minimum wage regulations, and that the purpose of those regulations is precisely to enable working people to earn a living through appropriately paid employment.
However, the exact date when the minimum wage will come into force in either city has not yet been determined.
Read More: Why Swiss Rents are Rising Faster Again: Raiffeisen Q2 2026 Report – Helvetica Times
Business Groups Accept Ruling, But With Conditions
Opponents of the measure did not hide their reservations. The Winterthur Chamber of Commerce and Employers’ Association, the SME Association of Winterthur and the surrounding area, and the Trade Association of the City of Zürich issued a joint statement acknowledging the ruling, but flagging two concerns: first, that wage enforcement inspections should be concentrated in sectors without collective agreements; and second, that local businesses must not be placed at a competitive disadvantage against employers from outside the cities who are not subject to the same minimum wage rules.
Both associations nonetheless pledged to work constructively with the two cities on implementation.
Switzerland Remains One Of The Few Wealthy Nations Without A National Statutory Minimum Wage
A federal popular initiative to establish a nationwide floor of CHF 4,000 per month was rejected by voters in 2014. Wednesday’s Federal Supreme Court ruling now firmly establishes that cities, not just cantons, can fill that gap independently, without waiting for higher-level permission.
