Demonstrations in Poland in defence of democracy.

Only the devil demonstrates on the Sabbath.

As far as I can tell, this is an urban legend and can find no actual verification that this was ever a common occurence (if it has happened it hasn't in recent years).

The Biedronka that I go to there doesn't even seem to be a separate 'cashier' position.

I think we are talking about checkout assistants here.


I also find it impossible to believe that these workers put on adult incontinence garments and excreted into them while sitting at the checkout.

Let's compromise on kasjer(ka). The people filling that position one minute are stacking shelves or cleaning up a mess some customer made (and vice versa)


I first heard the idea as a joke about a hypothetical situation some years ago and was surprised later that some people actually thought it happened (on a regular basis!)

But they aren't. Teachers, factory, workers, office workers, road-builders, carpenters, plumbers, civil servants and many more -- all except emergency workers and osme of the above in an emergency -- are off on Sunday. That day in Polish tradition has a special aura of time-honoured sanctity* about it -- Holy Mass, Sunday dinner, visiting relatives, family strolls in the park, outings, etc. are far healthier alternatives mentally and physically than spending hours in an artifically illuminated, chemically air-freshened commercial environment amid aisles upon aisles of often useless junk and clutter. And there are also the savings involved -- taking kids to a commercial emporium where their eyes see and want many things they shouldn't have (unhealthy snacks, junky toys) and/or parents cannot afford is none too advisable.

*time-honoured sanctity: this is a concept that one's pet dog or cat (as well as some de-spritualised PF-ers) would be incapable of fathoming.

It's up there with cutlery chained to milk bar tables!

Teachers most certainly aren't off on Sundays. I once worked nearly 14 hours on a Sunday at an event that I had to organise, and I've spent many Sundays on school trips when I was working from 00:00 till 23:59. Furthermore, many teachers of adults work during the weekends.

Factory workers do work Sundays. Depends on the production line, but for instance, the run-up to Christmas will see 24/7 operation in factories.

Office workers can be - I know companies that work with the ME market and hence Sunday is a regular working day.

Road-builders do work on Sundays if the project is behind or a rush job. Not uncommon to see them working when driving somewhere.

Carpenters/plumbers may well work if they're on call, or working on a building that needs to get finished.

Civil servants - some do. Social workers are always on call, for instance.

Why are retail workers somehow a privileged group?

I used to have classes on come Sundays and when the government then was talking about making them illegal (PiS I? or after?) the students were very upset as that was the only time they could be there.

You're really picking up scattered peripherals to make your case. I think the idea is to limit large-scale trade at big supermarkets, hypermarkets and shopping centers. Small corner shops employing no more than say 2 or 3 could be exempted as could your Sunday course attendees.Your line of defence is called reductio ad absurdam!

Precisely where families like to spend time together.

Now this daft idea really will be unpopular...

That supermarket cashiers have to wear pampers is not true. It is only one of the millions of "hoaxes" found on the net. Everybody with a tiny bit of common sense knows that there is a lot of BS on the net. It is not because someone writes things on the net that they are true.

Cashiers have breaks anyway and should an emergency occur, the cashier calls her supervizor, closes her register, leaves for the toilet and returns to work. If let's say they have breaks avery 3 hours, women have no trouble to spend 3 hours without going to the toilet.... Personally (unless I drink a lot of water) I can wait up to 4-4.5 hours (nothing special)....

In policy making and legislation it doesn't matter at all what the idea is. What matters is what happens in the real world when the law is put in place.

Politics is always the art of trade offs (no free lunches).

Shutting down stores on Sunday is a restriction on employment and every restriction on employment reduces employment.

So the question is: How many people losing their jobs is an acceptable trade off for you in terms of making sure that people stay home on Sunday?

What would you tell the people who lose their jobs?

That sounds like typical KOD-style clutching-at-straws codswallop. If supermarkets are clsoed on Sundays that doesn't mean people will start shopping and eating less. They will simply readjust their schedules giving the majority a most looked- forward-to day off.

Part of that looked-forward-to day off involves shopping for a lot of people. I see shop workers I recognise out shopping on Sundays. Governments should extend liberty rather than restrict it. This is less about protecting workers' rights than an attempt to socially engineer people's free-time activities. What next, 'vounteer' digging to create parks?

I remember when strict Sunday trading laws existed in the UK. Boy, were Sundays dull! A few big players like Tesco and B&Q defied the law and opened with much publicity. Their stores were packed and the government had to back down. The bishops weren't happy but the people were.

No, but it will mean that shops will be open 14% fewer hours and so will need 14% fewer staff (and the staff who do work the remaining 86% of the hours shops are currently open will have to work harder due to there being more customers during those hours).

Does anybody happen to have any up-to-date data on employment in the retail sector in Poland? The most recent data I have is only from 2009, when 1.217 million people worked in retail (eurofound.europa.eu/observatories/eurwork/comparative-information/national-contributions/poland/poland-ewco-car-on-working-conditions-in-the-retail-sector-national-contribution); however that was up from 1.083 million in 2004, so it's almost certainly gone up since 2009. Even if it hasn't, 14% of those people being fired due to shops being closed for 14% of the hours they are currently open will mean 170,380 people losing their jobs. And they'll be losing their jobs purely due to other people wanting to cram their religious beliefs down the throats of other people. I wonder how many tens of thousand of extra demonstrators that will put out on the streets.

I can't help you with the figures, but those numbers must have increased significantly. In my nearest town a small, ground-level retail park has just opened. It's nothing special, just a C&C, Rossman, Jysk and a few others, but there must be a hundred new jobs there, and Sunday is one of its busiest days.

I imagine the UK's despiritualised/animalised rabble were happy. But Poland is luckily still a spiritual place that acknowledges time-honoured traditions and higher values that go beyond consuming and excreting.

oh do shush old man. The only reason the UK might be 'despiritualised' is from following the USA too much. (your place. You are not Polish and you never will be )

And why are you incapable of conversing without being hateful and making personal attacks?

Written like someone who's never witnessed the church-to-the-supermarket beeline to be found on Sunday late mornings afternoons.

Once I was in the cukiernia/pastry line in the local supermarket but had timed things badly so I was behind about a dozen babcias and dziadeks leaving church with complicated combinations of cakes and candies. It forever as most of them were acting like they'd never seen different kinds of sernik before and wanted to know what everything was before buying....

Oh look, yet another thread gets driven off topic by off-topic ad hom trolling from Polo, how surprising. It's almost as if he wants to have this thread closed so people can't discuss demonstrations in Poland in defence of democracy.

Anyway, does anybody know anything about any demonstrations in support of the hundreds of thousands of people who would lose their jobs if the religious beliefs of the few were to be forced down the throats of the many? I'd certainly be up for taking part in those. Perhaps they could be combined with demonstrations in defence of democracy.

PF forums could be a candidate to be actually a kind of social experiment. Most of the genuine Poles are OK with what current govt is saying about unfair and destructive policy of Eurocratic Union. Most of the people against it and those that are nostalgic fanatics of previous govt are foreigners, wannabes Poles and "feeling to be Polish although never-to-be-Poles" or (like Jon) have totally different understanding of morality and bend over for anyone. This shows what current idea of EU is: Obey and let us gain power. Forget about your values in the name of one which is money for the Elite. Disgusting.

Almost? Entirely!

And still, the Polish pro-democracy rallies continue, the public (18% of them anyway) who were duped into voting for an unelected dictator who summons the puppet president to secret meetings in the dead of night have seen through it all, hence the approval ratings.

Remind us why PiS are demanding new limousines worth over 600 thousand złoty each when they have perfectly good cars bought in 2011?

If the supermarket were closed churchgoers would make other arrangements. Supermarkets could extend their hours on other days and that way not only their employees but the entire nation (minus a few emergency workers) would have a glorious Sunday off. That way everybody would be happy. Some make-work like scooping up doggy-go in public parks could be provicef for godless PF-ers who claim they're bored on Sundays.

Easy issue. Corruption, contracts, vanity.

Remind me what cars are officially used to carry EU fatasses?

"Remind us why PiS are demanding new limousines worth over 600 thousand złoty" It's because they have minibars, I wouldn't go in any car unless I had my VIP lager on tap with frozen glasses to serve it in simple.

dolny are you talking about that awful Biedronka beer? I swear you could use that stuff to degrease engines.

Is an overestimation. :D

Never heard you express concern for coalminers, often their families' sole providers, turned out of work, although their job is far more taxing and dangerous than punching a cash register. That's called hypocrisy or moralność Kalego. If you don't know what that means, never ask an expat wannabe Pole, because they won't know either (without googling).!