Anyone who has completed an apprenticeship in Switzerland should earn at least CHF 5,000 a month in full-time emplyment says the Swiss Trade Union Federation. It plans to launch a popular initiative to introduce this minimum pay level.
Delegates at the federation’s congress in Bern on Friday backed the proposal by a large majority and instructed its leadership to develop the proposal further.
The federation argues that anyone who has completed an apprenticeship should earn enough to live on. Yet many earn less than 5,000 francs a month, and 15% earn less than 4,500 francs.
The proposal also seeks to ease work pressure on apprentices. It would give them eight weeks’ holiday a year, allowing more time to recover from the demands of workplace training and vocational study.
The federation said it will refine the text and decide when to launch the initiative. It will need 100,000 valid signatures to secure a public vote.
Apprenticeships lose ground
In a position paper, the federation’s leadership says that although about two-thirds of young people still undertake an apprenticeship, growing numbers are choosing an academic education. The share of workers with an apprenticeship qualification has fallen from 52% to 31% over the past 30 years.
Over the same period, the share with a higher-education qualification has risen from 9% to about 30%. Increasingly, jobs are filled by people with tertiary qualifications, particularly in computing, electronics and finance, the federation says.
It rejects the claim that skilled workers’ wages rise rapidly after they complete an apprenticeship.
Many apprentices also report excessive workloads, intense pressure and inadequate support. For many, the experience falls short of the success story that Switzerland’s vocational-training system likes to portray.
Employers push back
Employers’ groups were quick to oppose the proposal. The Swiss Employers’ Confederation said it rejects rigid, uniform rules for vocational training, arguing that a nationwide wage floor would ignore differences in productivity and pay across occupations, industries and regions. Setting starting wages too high, it warned, could discourage hiring and make it harder for young workers to gain experience. Pay should instead be negotiated by employers and unions, with increases reflecting skills, experience and responsibilities.
The confederation also warned that higher costs and more regulation could deter companies from offering apprenticeships. Switzerland’s vocational-training system depends on businesses choosing to train young people, it argued, and their investment in teaching and support deserves recognition.
The Swiss Trade Association accused the unions of using vocational training to raise their profile at the system’s expense. It dismissed the proposals as recycled demands and called instead for stronger basic skills at school and less paperwork for training companies. Employers also cited a 2025 study in which more than 80% of apprentices reported feeling good or very good about their training.
Assuming 13 annual payments, the proposed wage floor would average about US$6,500 per calendar month, far above statutory minimum wages elsewhere. Luxembourg’s minimum for qualified workers is roughly US$3,685 (43% lower), Germany’s general minimum US$2,600 (60% lower) and France’s US$2,070 (68% lower). In America, the federal minimum yields about US$1,257 a month for a 40-hour week (81% lower). These rates are not for qualified apprentices so are not directly comparable.
More on this:
Swiss Trade Union Federation press release (in French) – Take a 5 minute French test now
Swiss Employers’ Confederation press release (in French)
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