A rather good article on the bizarre world of supermarket pay in the UK - here

Makes you realise expensive Migros/COOP might not be so bad!

The same miserable wages are paid here. I know a qualified stone mason who wants to work, but he has health problems after being a stone mason for 30 years. His family live in Freiburg, but he works in a food factory in Zurich for Fr 17,-- per hour. And people wrote on this forum that we don't need a minimum wage in Switzerland, it will cause inflation. Yeah, can you live on Fr 714,-- per week?

you are totally right about the fact that noone can live on 714.- per week. but the solution ain't a minimal wage. history tells us, that the main thing that a minimal wage creates is unemployment. most sector wages in switzerland are already "regulated" by unions, and guess what? the unemployment-ratio between high-qualified and low-qualified workers increased by 10 % p.a the last few years....
http://www.sgvs.ch/congress11/upload/p_161-724103.pdf

So should he stay at home in Fribourg and live off social welfare?

Your ideal world has no ground for existance at all, neither moral, nor economic.

The employer should pay a proper wage for the job. The man works shift work, filling sacks and moving them onto pallets etc.

What is the answer? He is a proud Italian, he has been here all his working life and is prepared to work under these conditions.
The factory manager takes advantage of the man's better moral standards.

An excellent article Dodgyken - I really hope many will take the trouble to read it and ponder. Thank you.

look, I feel with you, and especially your friend. there are so many (young) people nowadays that are missing these work ethics and that could be sooner or later a problem for our society.

but I am just saying that while a minimum wage might help your friend, at the same time it could kill 10'000 jobs. this is not an ideal world, especially its not my ideal world... but you have to take a look at facts , statistics about development of wages and unemployment in switzerland. while the ratio of wages (high qualified to low qualified) seem to be quite constant, the unemployment has risen substantially, and it seems a trend that is not going to stop very soon. Where do you think that is coming from. Do you think a minimum wage would stop this?

what we need is a proper tax system, a system that is easy, fair and in reality progressive, that the inequality in the society doesn't grow further.

ps: I am earning 160 CHF per shift in a hotel. That would be 17.8 CHF/hour on saturday's and sundays and 20 CHF/ hour during the week. No BVG payments either...