Update | Swiss voters reject proposal for world's highest minimum wage
Voters heeded warnings move would hurt businesses and weaken the economy
Swiss voters overwhelmingly rejected a plan yesterday to create the world's highest minimum wage, siding with government and business leaders worried about the costs to the nation's strong economy.
Voters also rejected a multibillion-dollar deal, a decade in the making, to buy fighter jets from Sweden, while they overwhelmingly supported measures to ban paedophiles from working with children and amend the constitution to support more family doctors in rural areas.
Much of the national debate ahead of the referendums - held every three months in Switzerland as part of the country's direct democratic system - has focused on the pros and cons of introducing a minimum wage.
The "Decent Salary" initiative insists that at least 22 Swiss francs an hour, or 4,000 francs a month, is needed to get by in the wealthy Alpine nation.
Backers of the initiative wanted Switzerland to go from having no minimum wage to boasting the world's highest, far above the US$7.25 in America, €9.43 (HK$100) in France, €5.05 in Spain and the recently agreed €8.50 in Germany, set to take effect next year.