Swiss voters rejected a proposal to increase employees’ annual minimum paid vacation entitlement to six from four weeks on Sunday after firms warned it might hurt competitiveness and threaten jobs. The initiative was put forward by trade union Travail.Suisse, which argued that four weeks’ vacation was insufficient because the pressure of work had increased so much in recent decades, causing rising stress and health problems. But Swiss television said initial figures showed the proposal had been rejected by a clear 67 percent of voters. Referendums are central to Switzerland’s political system of direct democracy, and have been held on topics ranging from health insurance to smoking bans. In a separate referendum Sunday, people in Zurich voted for the creation of “sex boxes” — places where prostitutes can work — while Geneva residents agreed to restrict street protests, BBC News reported. –msnbc