Streets of Basel paved with gold: 15 TONS of five cent coins are dumped on

 For years it's long been regarded as one of Europe's richest countries.

And judging by these photos, they really have got money to throw about - and can even pave the streets with gold.

But the cash so freely splashed was with five-centime pieces - and the reason behind the move was to demand a minimum income for Swiss households.

As Europe continues to struggle with financial turbulence and unemployment, activists in Switzerland have decided to take a stand and demand a basic income to each citizen on a monthly basis.

Activists piled 8 Mio five-centime pieces, one representing each citizen in Switzerland, in the safe room of the 'Basler Volksbank' bank building, in Basel, Switzerland.

Then the team from 'Generation Basic Income Initiative' dumped the 15 tons of money in front of the parliament building in Bern, the capital of Switzerland.

The initiative aims to have a minimum monthly disposal household income of CHF 2,500 (US$ 2,700) given by the government to every citizen living in Switzerland

Enno Schmidt, founder of Generation Basic Income Initiative, says he wants government to implement an unconditional basic income (UBI), Ruptly.TV reported.

His organisation presented 130,000 signatures to Parliament urging them to pass a law guaranteeing a basic income of CHF 2,500 for all Swiss nationals.

The Swiss Parliament must address or hold a referendum over any issue which has gathered more than 100,000 signatures.

According to Schmidt the Swiss government is angry 'because now they have to look into this initiative'.
He went on to clarify that the goal of the initiative is 'not to make people equal' but instead 'to give people the right of life in an economical way'.

According to The Richest, Switzerland does not have a minimum wage written into law.

It does have bargaining arrangements between its workers and management and covers the majority of the working population.

The founder and Daniel Häni both made The Basic income, a cultural impulse that praises the idea of a Basic income.

The movie, directed by and Enno Schmidt, was released in 2008 and has been translated into more than ten languages including English, French, Slovak and Finnish.