RIGHT SPEAK: Swiss Voters Reject setting the Record for the World's Highest Minimum Wage

Swiss voters overwhelmingly rejected an initiative that would have introduced the highest minimum wage in the world.

The Minimum Wage Initiative, which had been proposed by the Swiss Trades Union Confederation, was defeated by a 76%-24% vote, according to Swiss television.

The referendum, which would have established a minimum hourly wage of 22 Swiss francs ($25), marked a move by Swiss voters away from legislating compensation. Last year, voters backed a proposal giving shareholders of publicly traded companies more say on executive pay. A subsequent vote on capping the salaries of the best-paid executives at 12 times those of a company's lowest-paid employees was rejected.

Analysts said the rejection of the 1:12 Initiative for Fair Pay likely set the tone for the minimum-wage vote. "I am not surprised the initiative failed, given the rejection of the 1:12 motion," said Patrick Emmenegger, a political scientist at the University of St. Gallen.

The Minimum Wage Initiative came against a backdrop of efforts around the world to raise pay for lower-income workers. Switzerland's plan would have set wages at more than double the $10.10 an hour that U.S. President Barack Obama has proposed for American workers. German Chancellor Angela Merkel is pushing for a minimum wage of €8.50 ($11.64) an hour.