Minimum wage set for domestic workers
Privately employed domestic workers should earn at least SFr18.20 ($17.40) per hour, the Swiss cabinet announced on Wednesday.
Workers who have a qualification gained after two years of study should be paid SFr22, they said.
These new wages will go into effect starting on January 1, 2011 as part of a new standard employment contract.
The legislation had been recommended by the federal commission set up to examine issues surrounding legislation on the free movement of people between the European Union and Switzerland which came into force in 2004.
The commission found that more and more workers from new EU member states were being employed by private families, and that the influx was pushing wages down.
All cantons expect for Geneva will be required to adopt the minimum wage regulations by December 31, 2013. Canton Geneva has already put minimum wage guidelines into place.
swissinfo.ch and agencies
