Some 120,000 Swiss signatories have put their names to a petition demanding a monthly minimum wage of $2,800 (2,500 Swiss francs) for every single member of the working adult population. Enough names have been collected for a government vote.

Anything less than the proposed amount would be deemed illegal, even for people working in the lowest paid jobs. A typical fast-food worker in the US earns roughly $1,500 per month.

“It could be one of the landmark historical moments, like the abolition of slavery, or the civil rights movement – of course, those who don’t want it will find excuses, but those who do want it will find solutions,” Enno Schmidt, founder of the Basic Income Initiative, told RT.

A date for the vote itself is yet to be confirmed, however, it could take place before the end of this year, depending on the decision of the Swiss government. The “1:12 initiative” has gained support across the government’s social democrat bloc.

To mark the day, a truck full of 8 million five-cent coins was deposited on the square and spread out in front of the Swiss Parliament in Bern on Saturday.

Imagine such a minimum monthly wage in the UK . Not a chance! Why, the government even wants unemployed people here to work for what amounts to around £1 per hour in order to receive benefits.

In Switzerland the unemployment benefit is 70% of your former wage (assuming you've paid your usual social services contributions). Politics and the constitution must work very differently there - I can't imagine a demonstration in the UK over pay changing a single thing! And if it did they'd rape you in other ways to get the money back.

They get you into work in Switzerland if they can arrange it, for the gov until you get sorted with a job again.
This avoids the stigma of unemployment. I'm going off what hadabusa told me ages ago though so can't verify that.

andyh wrote: This sounds quite plausible and would be a sensible policy. It's perfectly achievable, particularly in the US which could easily run a budget surplus if the government was run sensibly. Then you could run all sorts of social programmes that benefit the population in general and the disadvantaged in particular.