From minimum wages to taxes Swiss voters also cast their ballots on a number of cantonal issues on Sunday.
Swiss citizens had cast their votes not only on national, but on cantonal issues as well? We round up some of the main votes.
Basel-City
Residents will be able to have their taxes deducted directly from their wages in the future, after accepting the corresponding change in tax regime.
With this move, Basel-City is the first canton to introduce direct tax deduction.
For companies with more than 50 employees, the tax deduction will be mandatory; for smaller firms, it will be voluntary.
Geneva
Voters approved an easing of the law regulating store opening hours.
This means retailers in the canton will be able to open for business on two Sundays per year, in addition to December 31st.
Work on these two Sundays is to be strictly voluntary, and employees will receive double pay.
Also in Geneva voters approved a constitutional amendment to ban cantonal and municipal lawmakers from wearing visible religious symbols during parliamentary sessions.
The ban on religious symbols was approved by 51.37 percent of voters, with a turnout of 51.47 percent.
However, the debate is not over, as appeals have already been lodged against this provision.
The proposal, put forward by right-leaning parties including the Swiss People’s Party, the centre-right Radical-Liberals and the Centre in the name of secularism, was subject to a mandatory referendum.
Vaud
The principle of a minimum wage has taken its first step forward in the canton of Vaud. Citizens approved on Sunday the constitutional initiative to this effect,.
This measure should benefit some 23,000 cantonal residents who earn less than 23 francs per hour, representing nearly 5 percent of jobs.
Zurich
Voters in the canton of Zurich rejected both a proposal for a comprehensive state intervention in the housing market proposed and also set of rigid quota regulations proposed by the centre-right.
The so-called housing initiative failed to secure a majority among voters: 59.7 percent rejected it. Voter turnout stood at around 57 percent.
The proposal, backed by left-wing parties, called for the canton to take on a more active role in the property market.
However, a counter-proposal from the cantonal parliament and government was approved by 57.9 percent of the electorate. This enshrines the goal of a sufficient supply of housing in the constitution, but removes the state from the role of developer.
A right wing proposal that called for a fixed quota for housing projects in which the canton or municipalities are involved was also rejected.
