Zurich Parliament Again Seeks Pay Raise, Voters to Decide

Zurich's city parliament is once again asking voters to approve a significant increase in their own compensation. The proposed raise would boost annual pay for the 125 members from around 16,000 Swiss francs to 20,800 francs, a jump of approximately 30%. This new ordinance also introduces contributions to occupational pensions and eliminates separate expense reimbursements.

The compensation structure is being revised. The base allowance for the mandate will increase from 260 to 500 francs per month. Members with children under 12 will receive an additional 100 francs for babysitting. The new rules consolidate all payments, ending separate expense claims. For council meetings, members would receive 140 francs for the first two hours, with each additional 15 minutes paid at 17.50 francs. Previously, compensation was calculated per half-hour.

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The compensations were last adjusted in 1998.

Committee meeting fees will now be 190 francs for up to two hours, plus 23.75 francs for each additional 15 minutes, a change from the previous system that mirrored council meeting compensation. This is not the first time the parliament has sought higher pay. A similar proposal was put before voters in February 2025 but was rejected by 53% of the vote, a surprising outcome in the left-leaning city of Zurich despite broad support from left to center parties.

Supporters argue that parliamentary duties have significantly increased since the last adjustment in 1998, with meetings now often lasting four hours compared to two hours nearly three decades ago. They point out that current hourly rates of 65 francs are comparable to Basel's 67 francs, but Zurich's base annual compensation of 3120 francs is much lower than Basel's 6000 francs. The new proposal would bring Zurich's base compensation to 6000 francs annually, aligning it with Basel. However, critics, particularly from the right, had opposed the previous proposal due to the substantial increase and the shift to minute-based billing for meetings. All parties have now filed a parliamentary referendum to allow the public to vote on the matter again.

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Meetings used to last two hours, today they are often four.