Ticino:

The citizens of Ticino ask to place restrictions on cross-border workers. According to final results, the initiative referendum "Ours First" – promoted by the Swiss People's Party (UDC) with the support of the Ticino League – passed with 58% of "yes". The rejection was 39.7%.

The text submitted to the voters of the canton, where about 62 thousand border workers work every day , calls on "the labor market is preferred, level on professional qualifications, those who live on the territory."

The decision, however, lies in Bern. As stated in the website of the promoters of the referendum, the initiative "gives to the State Council a clear mandate to implement all practical measures to repel the downward pressure on wages, avoiding the systematic replacement of resident workers and ensure that the people of Ticino take precedence in the labor market. " "Ours First", it is stated, "will require a law application that will be voted on by the Great Council", but the final decision belongs to the Federal Council and the Parliament in Bern.

The Ticino State Council – the cantonal executive who had proposed a counter-proposal rejected at the polls – warned about the problems of application of "Ours First", but announced that it will be "formed a working group to draft a bill that applying the new constitutional article. "

The "anti cross-border workers referendum has no practical effect for now, but without the free movement of persons, relations between Switzerland and the EU are risky", the Italian Foreign Minister, Paolo Gentiloni, wrote on Twitter.

Even the governor of Lombardy, Roberto Maroni, has made his voice heard and Facebook assures: "We'll arrange adequate measures to defend the rights of our fellow workers. Ticino voted to block the entrance to tens of thousands of workers Lombard (workers, not illegal immigrants) who daily cross the border to work (regularly) in Switzerland. We accept the outcome of the referendum, of course, but will be watching as this does not result in a violation of the rights of our fellow citizens Lombard or (worse) the introduction of discrimination or violation of laws protecting our workers. "

The vote coincided with other referenda. The Swiss have rejected a popular initiative which proposed a 10% rise in pensions and rejected the proposal by the Green Party "For a green economy." Instead  it was approved the new Federal Law on information activities aimed at providing the 007 Swiss of more measures to fight terrorism.

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