Last Sunday, on March 11th, was the first Sunday with large supermarkets and most other retailers closed for the first time since liberal shopping laws were introduced in Poland in 1990s after communism’s collapse.
A new Polish law banning almost all trade on Sundays came into force after Poland’s ruling party decided to gradually ban Sunday shopping, meeting the demand of its conservative Catholic supporters. The idea was put forward last year by the Solidarity trade union, backed be a million-strong petition. Even though the government and retail groups suggested compromises like shutting shop every other Sunday, or only after lunch and the rival OPZZ union proposed higher wager for Sunday working, all suggestions to water down the bill were heavily criticised by the Solidarity union.
Up to now, stores in Poland were closed for 12 days a year for major national
or religious holidays and were allowed to be opened on all Sundays.
The new law at first bans trade two Sundays per month (the second and
the third one) but steps it up to three in 2019 and finally all Sundays in 2020
(except for seven exceptions before Easter and Christmas holidays).
There are, however, some exceptions to the ban. For instance, such
venues as gas stations, cafes, pharmacies as well as stores at airports or
train stations and mom-and-pop shops are allowed to keep operation as long as
only the owners themselves work. Anyone
infringing the new rules will face a fine of up to 100.000 PLN (24.000€).
The main reason why the Solidarity union wanted to introduce the ban is
that many feel workers are exploited under the liberal regulations and want to
have a day off for family and friends.
However, many Poles also experience consumer freedom as one of the most
tangible benefits of the free market era and resent the limit. Poles are among
the hardest-working citizens in the EU and some complain that Sundays are
sometimes the only days they have free time to shop.
The latest poll for the TVN24 news channel showed a clear 59% in favour
of keeping shops open and only 35% for the ban.
The truth is the ban will affect polish economy as consumption was the main
driver of Polish growth in 2017. While other EU members force shop to close on
Sundays and holidays, Poland’s economy is based largely on domestic
consumption, and many companies depend on weekend shopping for a large part of
their sales, like LLP SA, country’s largest clothing retailer, where 18 percent
of revenue comes from Sundays shoppers. The ban is likely to affect especially
larger and foreign retail players, who will see a drain on their revenues in
increasingly deserted shopping malls on the edges of towns.
Pro-business opposition view the change as an attack on commercial
freedom and warn that it will lead to loss of jobs. The new law may particulate
hurt students who often have part-time jobs on weekends as well as may have a
bad impact on cross-border shopping from Baltic states, Belarus, Ukraine and
Slovakia.
Weather it will come to a complete ban is unsure, given the political turbulences
in Poland. The general trend in Europe towards less rather than more
restrictions on commercial trading. Another ex-communist country may be a
telling case – Hungary introduced a ban on Sunday trading in 2015 that was so
unpopular that authorities repealed it the next year. Although I preferer to
spend my Sundays in a different way, I think that it will be really difficult
to change Pole’s old habits and refrain from Sunday shopping mall walks.
0 komentarze:
Post a Comment