Voters in Switzerland's 26 cantons decide Sunday whether the country should give stores more leeway in deciding when they open and liberalize other labor laws, moves aimed at boosting the ailing Swiss economy.
The measure would also end a controversial ban on Swiss women working night shifts in factories.In addition, voters will decide on a separate measure proposed by the far-right wing Swiss People's Party which would bar foreigners entering the country illegally from seeking asylum.
The labor bill, which has the support of the parliament, must be approved by popular referendum under the Swiss system of direct democracy.
Under the measure, citizens would have a greater choice as to when they could shop, since it would allow Swiss stores to remain open on six Sundays a year.
Stores currently maintain strict hours with only few exceptions, including longer shopping hours Thursday night, and Sunday shopping in train stations and airports.
Swiss women are also currently barred from working night shifts in factories unless they obtain special permission.
Supporters of the ban say it was originally set up to protect women, but some groups argue that it was established to ensure that women would stay home evenings, ostensibly to keep their men from wandering out to bars.
The measure will also allow for voluntary overtime.
Supporters of the initiative argue that Swiss labor laws must be liberalized to offset the disadvantages of being outside the European Union after voters in 1992 rejected a first step toward EU membership.
Parliament has pushed the labor liberalization as a way out of prolonged economic stagnation. The gross domestic product is forecast to decline by about 0.5 percent this year, and only a moderate improvement is expected in 1997.
The second item up for vote, the SVP's labor initiative, is a controversial one, given international scrutiny now directed at Switzerland for its role in World War II.
"During the Nazi era in Germany, Switzerland turned away thousands of refugees from its borders and sent illegal immigrants back," the Swiss trade union association said in a newspaper ad against the initiative. "The SVP has learned nothing!"
The changes to the asylum laws would mean that anyone deemed to have entered Switzerland illegally would be denied the right to seek political asylum.