Always having an eye on Europe, I saw an article on Switzerland in the NY times (May 17) preparing for the world’s highest  minimum wage. The minimum wage was proposed to be raised to 22 Swiss Francs ($24.65!). $24.65? Unimaginable for the US, right?

Switzerland is known for their superior living standards and high social welfare system. However, people with full time jobs still struggle to pay rent and sustain the high cost of  living. Switzerland in an earlier referendum in February already threatened the nation’s position by limiting the number of EU citizens to be allowed to live an work in Switzerland. The pols in the national referendum (May 18) clearly decided against the proposal. But what if not?

Disregarding the discussion if a minimum wage is rather hurting workers than improving income disparity, I wanted to stress the point that companies that are investing in Europe, need to understand the political and social systems as well as the norms of the foreign countries. As it is pointed out in the article, firms like Nestle and Swatch, which are some the largest companies in Switzerland, fear that introducing a minimum wage will damage their competitiveness in the global market.