Shops in Poland to be closed on Sunday?

most posts here are on topic

This one won't be, promise :)


In my humble opinion, I'd guess that workers in smaller shops are more open to being exploited. They have longer hours, they are unlikely to be able to actually take proper breaks from work and they're absolutely unlikely to be able to take holidays at their convenience. The PIP (and others) would also have far less interest in them - who cares about small shops when you can go and bust the big chains (and get publicity for doing so)?


Honestly, I think it's every bit as idiotic. Belgium has (like most Western capitals) problems with unemployment among youths - the shops being open on Sunday might help a little bit with that. And yes, the idiotic Sunday trading laws in England are also - in my view - completely stupid. Trust me, I've called Germany more than enough names when in Berlin for the weekend and praised how so-called "Catholic" Poland has far better laws.

I don't know if you've ever been to the border towns, but they are packed on Sundays with Czechs/Germans/etc. There are some huge shopping areas in places like Zgorzelec and Lubin designed specifically to cater for them - I was in Zgorzelec a couple of Sundays ago, and the place was absolutely rammed full of Germans doing their shopping.


Who wouldn't like the extra money? :) I was never really bothered by what days I had free, except always wanting to be free on Fridays because of parties on Thursdays.


Quite believable, but like Harry says, the PIP often specifically go into workplaces to find idiotically small faults. I used to work full time teaching in Allegro when they had one such inspection - and they were (according to the law then in place) breaking the law by not having any windows that could be opened. The fact that they had two separate climate control systems wasn't enough - they wanted windows that could be opened, even though they were in a tower block...

I had to deal with them in my work as well - they really were nitpicking over some exceptionally stupid things. I'm quite surprised that it's only 52% that are breaking the law in this respect.


No, I didn't, but interesting :) Shows the massive influence that Jewish culture had, I guess.


One of the problems in Poland is with the labour code itself. It's completely understandable that if you have umowa o prace and have to put up with some rubbish working conditions - you'd rather have that than work under umowa zlecenie in a better place. Having said that, I also know how Solidarność behave - and they cannot be taken seriously.

I can't work out why trade unions would be against people working, however...

This issue is like Jason in Friday the 13th, it shows up every few years, gets stabbed and shot, set on fire and then thrown down a bottomless well and people think they're finally done with it..... and then a few years later it's back!!!!!

I think it has no chance of success whatsoever, it's playing to the cheap seats, Polish style. Create some noise about an issue people can get self-righteous about and then don't do anything.

I tend to avoid hypermarkets and malls (except for the Browary in Poznan) but closing them on Sunday won't accomplish anything good.

I think it's natural with modernity, that the slaves will replace praying with shopping.

I do not agree. In my native Belgium people were shot by the army once, to get a decent working week. 100 years is not long in relative time.

I think a free Sunday afternoon is common decency. The same for shops closing Saturday early. What is wrong with planning your weekend in advance?

Solidarity has reported a poll showing that 77% of Poles oppose Sunday shopping. In the 1990s only 25% were opposed and six years ago about a half were against it.

In a related development, Germany's Constituional Tribnunal has ruled that trading is banned on Sundays and holidays not just for religious reasons but to give people a day of rest.

Europe is alsmost equally divided on the issue, so it's far from being just a Polish dilemma.
If one knows shops are closed on Sunday one stocks up on Friday or Satruday.
solidarnosc.org.pl/sekretariat.bhiu/?p=2258

I have my doubts as to the validity of that poll. I mean, they wouldn't publish something that is contradictory to what they want, right?


If one knows that one cannot work to earn money on Sunday, one knows that one will be poorer.

Not a problem for those living in nice houses in Warsaw, of course.

Interesting that you cherry pick from that source, secure in the knowledge that most people here won't read it.
However, that source you have just given us also says that up to 700,000 people would lose their jobs if Sunday trading was banned. Are you and your fellow zealots going to give those people new jobs?

Can the country afford 700,000 people not paying into ZUS and not paying income taxes?

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunday_shopping

Well, it looks like its all part of modernity. Just like homosexuality , feminism, consumerism, socialism,Judaism; PIS and the ONR will cure all.

Nope. Just as the country cannot afford the drop in taxes that would result from people spending less money in the shops, which is an absolute certainty if people are prevented from going to the shops on what is for most people one of the only two days they can do that.

About 10 EU counrties ban or place restrictions on Sunday adn public holiday trading (eg only 4 Sundays a year). Judging by the rants of PF's Sunday shoppers, all those countries must be populated by people bent on harming their countries' economies and imposing hardships on fellow-citizens.

Damn imbeciles, all of them. Free Brunon K.

If you don't agree with Sunday trading, don't go shopping on Sundays. If you don't want to work on Sundays, don't take a job which requires you to work on Sundays. Pretty simple really.

Oh, and if you want to increase unemployment by hundreds of thousands while simultaneously cutting tax income by billions, you can pay for that lot yourself.

So, Polonius, what are your proposals to provide income for those who lose out as a result of these proposals?

So you admit people in those countries are idiots by having a ban in place?

Openly so. The fact that many millions of others have to work in those countries makes it even more ridiculous.

There's also the fact that those countries can afford to look after poor people. Poland can't.

if that's what the majority want then that's what the majority wants.
Poles lived for quite some time without Sunday shopping so....wait 7 pages have been written on this since it was posted.......never mind.

Hold your horses there chap, just coz the majority of the Sejm idiots want it doesn't mean jack sh!t.
To find out if the people want it we'd need a referendum or something similar.

If ppl didn't want it the shops wouldn't be packed full on Sundays.

Yes Lenka, but some people think they know best what is good for everybody and what everybody should be compelled to do....

Settle down, no need to get excited; notice the first word here?

Not really, they just go there cause the shops are open. There are no commandment that says - no shopping on Sundays.

Like in the old days, I hated that.

I do wonder if this isn't part of some effort to put more money in parish coffers. Y'know, if there's one less place you can spend your money and the church is still open for business then what's stopping them from accepting your heavily encouraged donations?

It doesn't matter to me for the most part but wouldn't put it past politicians or the R.C. Church in Poland to do this purely for financial gain.

Hope it hasn't come to that though.

Indeed you DO wonder.

There is no evidence that Sunday shopping reform will cost jobs.

The same argument has been used to claim that maternity leave would cost jobs, that equal pay for women would cost jobs and indeed insisted that ending child labour was bad for business. The right to paid sick leave and paid holidays was won despite the doom mongers insisting they would hurt business.