Voters in Switzerland are deciding on whether citizens should get a basic monthly income from the government, whether they are in work or not.

It is the first national referendum on a universal basic income, with the proposal calling for citizens to receive around 2,500 Swiss francs (£1,755) each month.

Polls have suggested that only about one-quarter of Swiss voters back the idea, while the government has advised voters to reject the proposal.

Money for nothing

The idea of a universal basic income is that all citizens would receive a the bare minimum - salaried workers who earn more than the 2,500 francs a month would get no extra money.

Advocates insist with jobs being taken over by automation like robots on factory floors, the time has come for a minimum monthly wage for all. They say they're seeking momentum more than outright victory.

Critics warn the policy would explode the state budget.

In Switzerland an issue can go to referendum if it receives 100,000 signatures on a petition.

It is one of five issues on the ballot today, including efforts to raise money for public services and simplify the application procedures for asylum-seekers.

Under a proposed model, each child would get a quarter of the total for adults - about 625 francs per month - a sum higher than state child-care payment to families today.

Possible ways of paying for it include:

Switzerland's basic income push is among the most advanced in Europe. The Dutch city of Utrecht wants to start a two-year experiment with a similar plan, handing money to residents who already receive welfare benefits.

Ralph Kundig, president of the Swiss chapter of the Basic Income Earth Network, said some economists favored the idea as a way to underpin consumption and support the economy.

But an association of mostly small businesses in the southwestern Swiss region of Valais region, UVAM, is among the many voices calling for voters to reject the proposal, writing on its Web site: "No bread without work."

It lambasted the basic income proposal as "an absolute danger, because it's the perfect negation of the virtue of work" that would entrench a dependent class and cost 208bn francs per year.