Sunday is the most important day of the week and is for prayer and family – not for shopping, Marlene Malag, Minister of Family in Poland stressed. The Polish government is organising a roundtable about the Sunday shop closure with trade industry representatives, CNE reports.
In 2018 the Polish governing party (PiS) introduced a legislation for a ban on Sunday trading. The Roman Catholic Church and the Solidarity trade Union supported this ban. There were some exceptions, but these were soon exploited by retail chains. As the legislation ruled post offices can be open on Sunday, several stores managed to stay open on Sunday as they started offering postal services. However, the government soon closed this loophole.
According to Malag, all businesses will have to comply with the ban of trading on Sunday this week. The roundtable probably will take place early next year.
New identity
Countries with a Protestant tradition are generally more strict in legislation concerning Sunday rest than countries with a Catholic tradition, like Poland. However, Poland is still trying to find a new identity after Communism collapsed in the nation in 1990.
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