In Switzerland, twice as many people live below the poverty line as there are inhabitants in Valais: 735,000. And more than 1.3 million faces the same fate. At least that’s what the official figures from the Federal Office for Statistics (FSO) – before the Corona crisis.
A remedy against it? A minimum wage, at least the left are convinced of that. And they also convinced the population in the cantons of Neuchâtel, Jura, Geneva, Ticino and Basel-Stadt. There are cantonal minimum wages there. Now the Valais Workers’ Party, which was (re) founded only two years ago, wants to introduce this as well – and has announced a cantonal popular initiative. Adrien D’Errico, member of the party leadership and local council in Monthey VS, explains to Blick why.
You are launching an initiative for a minimum wage in Valais. Why now?
Adrien D’Errico: We want to fight for the weakest. A minimum wage of 22 francs per hour (3,696 francs per month for 42 hours per week, editor’s note) would lead to more social justice and a better distribution of wealth. How can we tolerate people who work full-time or almost full-time living in the precariat? According to the FSO, around 1,400 people in Valais who work 50 percent or more or are unemployed receive social assistance. This is just not right! In addition, social assistance is financed through taxes. Also because some employers pay poorly.
A minimum wage in Valais would be a miracle. Do you still believe in Santa Claus?
We have no illusions. But the direct and indirect benefits of a minimum wage are real and many! For example, it would benefit the local economy. A minimum wage also helps fight wage dumping. Many sectors are affected in Valais, such as agriculture, the hotel industry, services and retail.
In 2014, Valais rejected the national initiative for a minimum wage of 4,000 francs with 82 percent and a cantonal initiative on the same subject with 80.7 percent. Wasn’t this result clear enough?
That was seven years ago. Since then, the mentalities have changed. The health and economic crisis we are currently experiencing has raised awareness. It is now up to us to convince the Valais.
The companies suffered greatly from the Corona crisis. Do you want to finish them off?
Yes, companies have suffered, but so have workers. Contrary to popular belief, it is not SMEs that pay the least and I do not think that introducing a minimum wage would put them at risk. They would even be better protected against competition from abroad. A French company that installs a swimming pool in Valais would have to pay its workers the same wages as the cantonal standards.
But can farmers and winemakers really pay their employees 3,700 francs a month?
The Valais is a canton with a lot of agriculture. In this environment, paying such a salary could actually be difficult. That is why we made an exception and thought of a minimum of 18 francs per hour for this branch of the economy. This would be a huge step forward for employees in this sector, whose wages, according to the collective agreement, start at CHF 13.40 per hour.
What if there were downsizing? Would you then take responsibility?
The introduction of a minimum wage does not lead to an increase in the unemployment rate – that is a myth! The Canadian economist David Card, who has just received the Nobel Prize in Economics together with Joshua Angrist and Guido Imbens, was able to prove the opposite: the number of jobs will remain or even increase if the minimum wage is increased. Because it creates a positive cycle: people have more money that they invest in the local economy, which in turn hires more people.
Employers could then be tempted to revise wages downwards …
There will be no downward alignment, on the contrary. In general, a minimum wage will cause all wages to rise. Not least because it gives the workers, but also the trade unions, more power in negotiations.
Your whole party fits almost in a gondola on the Piste de l’Ours in Veysonnaz VD: do you really have the funds for this popular initiative?
We may not be very numerous. But all the more convinced. And we have no intention of going into battle alone. We will appeal to our partners: the trade unions, the other left and even the center-left parties and their young parties.