Why would you need a "workaround"????

#!/usr/local/bin/perl -w

use strict;

die "Usage: $0 <yyyymmdd> [1 7177 201 201 -a]\n
This program will do XYZ, based upon your number. Use -a (this is your
+ switch) to choose all\n" unless @ARGV ==2;

if ($ARGV[1] eq "-a") {
print "Hey, I'm a switch!\n";
}
# and so on........
[download]

Obviously, not anything useful above, other than to make a point regarding "strict" and switches. See perlman:lib:strict for more info on use strict;

Update: Clearly, I misunderstood the question. I have requested that the editor remove this reply, as it is irrelevant.