I am convinced that all citizens of the European Union should benefit from a work-free Sunday. It is of paramount importance for workers’ health, for the reconciliation of work and family life as well as for the life of civil society as a whole. This common weekly rest day strengthens social cohesion in our

societies, which has been severely undermined by the current economic crisis.

On the occasion of the beginning of a new legislative period and the start of the new Commission I started an initiative to incorporate the Sunday as a non-working day in a revised working time directive. I posed a written question to the EU Commission the 10th of November 2009, asking Vladimír Špidla, Commissioner for Employment, Social affairs and Equal Opportunities, if he is willing to fix Sunday as a rest day as a matter of principle in future working time directives on the basis of the positive results of two Eurofund studies and other scientific surveys.

At the end of 2009 Mr Špidla answered that ultimately the Member States should decide whether Sunday should be set as the day of weekly rest. Any proposal would have to be based on convincing evidence that Sunday is significantly preferable related to the protection of workers’ health and safety. Of course we are not satisfied by this answer. So the parliamentary question was only a first step. I would like to create much more understanding and awareness in Europe and especially in the Commission on this topic. I would like to convince the new EU Commission and the Council to safeguard the work-free Sunday as a pillar of the European Social Model.

This will only be possible if we provide substantial arguments and a broad coalition of supporters all across Europe. Hence, I am really proud that for the first time in EU history organisations from civil society, the churches in Europe and many trade Unions met in Brussels on 24th March 2010 to show their commitment in favour of a work-free Sunday and to exchange their arguments. I hope that it is possible to adopt a joint call for a work-free Sunday by all 72 participating organisations; this would send a strong signal to EU and national leaders.

More than 400 registrations for the conference were received from inside and outside the European Parliament. This shows a maximum of awareness on the topic. It was very easy to find MEPs from the political groups inside the European Parliament who will hold a speech in favour of a work-free Sunday during the conference. This shows that we have a strong support inside the European Parliament.

Belgium has very strict rules and regulations concerning opening hours of local businesses and retail shops. And if you don’t abide by the rules you get fined. Repression instead of stimulation.
 

Recently the government went ahead with increasing the number of allowed Sunday openings.  But that tiny increase in the number of Sunday openings doesn’t allow a business to grow to its full potential. The whole package of regulations on shop opening hours, along with all the exceptions, should be abolished. Opening hours should be decided by individual shop owners in consultation with their personnel.

The same, by the way, goes for the whole legislation regulating sales.  For example, the current law stipulates that a shop isn’t allowed to announce it sells goods at reduced prices 6 weeks before the start of the sales period. And if you do so, you’ll get a hefty fine. This isn’t too big a deal for the bigger shops, national chains the likes of an Ikea, Mediamarkt or Inno, if and when they get fined. They pay their fine and are done with it. But for a small business a fine can have a profound impact.  This situation, among others, creates a competitive distortion which, we feel, isn’t fair.

Social and economic reality tells us different from the strict legislation that we have to deal with in Belgium.  The shop owner hasn’t got the freedom to adapt to the new ways of living, working and shopping. A new way of shopping and buying goods that could benefit him also, but he isn’t given that opportunity.  He isn’t given the freedom to choose and that lack of freedom is a problem.

Our shop owners’ clients leave early in the morning for work, they drop the kids off at daycare or school and don’t have the time to do some grocery shopping before rushing to work.  Very often they leave late from work in order to avoid traffic jams and they cut it close so to be just in time at the school or daycare to pick the kids back up and head straight home to help with homework and start preparing dinner. No time to squeeze a visit to the shops in there, … shops that are more often closed than open at that time of the evening.  

We think it’s important that shops and stores are able to choose whether to stay open late or open very early or simply do both. Lots of people prefer to do the shopping on a Sunday because on Saturday they also have to work, do chores in and around the house, have to drive the kids to ballet or soccer practice and they just don’t have the time to do their shopping on regular days.  A Sunday on which to do the shopping has become a dire need in these hectic times for many households.

We think that the business owners know what works for them and what does not.  They have a sense of what their customers expect from them, they know their customers and the potential their neighbourhood provides them. They must therefore be able to decide for themselves when and how long they want to open their stores and shops. They are the ones who must decide when and how big of a price reduction they give on their goods.  It may well be that some shop owners won‘t feel the need to open long hours or open on a Sunday or maybe they’d just like to open on certain specific moments of the year (holidays, bank holidays, summertime, Christmas, …) but at least give them the chance, the opportunity to choose for themselves.  

Don’t go restricting entrepreneurship with silly little rules and regulations, especially not now with a recession and difficult economic times.  Give retailers, local businessmen, shop owners the necessary breathing room and give them a chance to grow beyond the restraints that current legislation has put on them.  Give them the opportunity to blossom and flourish even if they choose to do so, even on a Sunday.   

 

Luc SOENS

Director LVZ (Liberaal Verbond voor Zelfstandigen)

The Liberal Union for Independent Professions