Referendum on the law requiring a collective labor agreement

Context

TL;DR

• October 23, 2026: referendum formally successful
• 66 006 valid signatures out of 66 574 submitted
• The cantonal referendum was not validated
• Eight cantons were required for validation

Key facts

• Publication → 23 October 2026
• Contested amendment → 19 June 2026
• Submission of signatures → 7 October 2026
• Signatures submitted → 66 574
• Valid signatures → 66 006
• Cantons cited → Neuchâtel and Ticino
• Cantonal threshold → eight cantons

The referendum committee had submitted 66 574 signatures on 7 October 2026. The Federal Chancellery determined that 66 006 of the submitted signatures were valid. The source directly links this verification to the conclusion that the referendum was formally successful. In this passage, therefore, the communiqué reports an outcome of the signature verification and not a result at the ballot box.

Two outcomes indicated separately

The same communiqué also addresses the cantonal referendum. It specifies that it was also supported by the cantons of Neuchâtel and Ticino, but that the required minimum number of eight cantons was not reached. For the cantonal referendum, the stated outcome is therefore failure to validate it.

This distinction is relevant for reading the text without conflating the two matters: the formal success of the referendum against the amendment to the federal law and the failure to validate the cantonal referendum are reported as two different outcomes. The source does not add a decision on the merits of minimum wages, the collective employment agreement or the legislative amendment.

Operational details

The comparison between the available figures

The communiqué allows for a limited numerical comparison, because the two figures refer to the same collection of signatures on October 7, 2026. The total submitted is 66 574, while the number recognized as valid is 66 006. The difference is 568 signatures: 66 574 − 66 006 = 568. This is a calculation derived from the source values, not an additional figure attributed to the Federal Chancellery. The source does not explain the reasons for the discrepancy.

What the comparison measures

The comparison measures the gap between the signatures submitted by the referendum committee and those recognized as valid. It does not measure the extent of support beyond the submission, indicate participation in a future consultation, or anticipate the outcome of a vote. The text does not provide an official percentage either. Therefore, the figures can describe the formal step already communicated, but they do not make it possible to quantify an effect on wages or collective agreements.

The link with the content of the law is defined solely by the designation of the amendment: granting generally binding force to the collective labour agreement and minimum wages lower than the cantonal minimum wages. The communiqué does not specify amounts, occupational categories, sectors, or an entry-into-force date.

The eight-canton threshold

At cantonal level, the text names Neuchâtel and Ticino as cantons that supported the cantonal referendum and indicates eight cantons as the required minimum. It does not state how many cantons supported it overall. It is therefore not correct to turn the two names cited into a total or derive from them a numerical distance from the threshold. The only stated outcome is that the minimum was not reached. Thus, the data on signatures, which leads to the formal success of the referendum against the federal amendment, and the data on the cantons, which leads to the failure to validate the cantonal referendum, remain separate.

Key points

Scope of the news

The available timeline establishes three stages: the amendment is dated June 19, 2026, the referendum committee submitted the signatures on October 7, 2026, and the statement was published on October 23, 2026. These dates make it possible to reconstruct the sequence of the events reported, but they do not add any subsequent schedule. The text does not give a date for a vote or indicate the next institutional step.

The informational limitations of the statement

The source does not report statements by the referendum committee, positions on the content of the law, or reasons for the validity of the individual signatures. Nor does it explain why the discrepancy between 66 574 deposited signatures and 66 006 valid signatures is of that size. Regarding the cantonal referendum, it indicates that the threshold of eight Cantons was not reached, but does not publish the total number of supporting Cantons.

The text does not quantify the minimum wage or the minimum wages concerned, identify the collective agreements involved, or describe effects on employers or workers. The wording concerning minimum wages lower than cantonal minimum wages defines the subject of the amendment, but does not document an increase, reduction, or suspension of wages. Similarly, the stated support of the Cantons of Neuchâtel and Ticino is not presented as a change to their wage rules.

What can be stated

Based on the statement, it can be stated that the referendum against the amendment to federal law achieved formal success after the signatures were verified and that the cantonal referendum was not validated because the minimum of eight Cantons was not reached. However, the source cannot be attributed with a finding on the merits of the law, a voting date, or an already measured impact on the minimum wage. The documented scope remains the procedural and institutional one indicated by the Federal Chancellery.

Source: admin.ch