Trade unions held a protest on Friday morning against the government’s plans to extend shop opening hours, as a draft bill makes its way through parliament.
The OGBL and LCGB unions held demonstrations at the City Concorde shopping centre in Bertrange and outside the Auchan supermarkets in Cloche d’Or and Kirchberg in opposition to the proposed changes.
In January, Economy Minister Lex Delles presented the draft bill to parliament’s economy committee. It proposes allowing retailers to open from 05:00 to 22:00 on weekdays, and from 05:00 to 19:00 at weekends and on public holidays.
The only exception would be three specific public holidays on 1 January, 1 May and 25 December, although even then butchers, bakers, pâtisseries, caterers and food salons would be exempt and could choose to open for business.
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The move represents “a far-reaching social regression” as it “will destroy any family or private life for the 50,000 workers affected”, the unions said in a statement.
The OGBL cited the results of a study among employees in the retail sector, which it said “found that the overwhelming majority of employees in the retail sector prefer not to work on Sundays or late in the evening at all”, adding that the proposed reforms would ultimately benefit larger companies at the expense of smaller firms.
The unions have already planned a day of action against the planned legislation on 28 June © Photo credit: Gilles Kayser
The unions believe that the changes will lead to further staff shortages in the retail sector, citing the industry’s dependence on cross-border workers and the high proportion of women, including single parents.
“This ultra-flexibility of working hours will exacerbate the already existing phenomena of staff shortages and will certainly not increase the attractiveness of these jobs,” the unions said.
Also read:Unions continue fight against extended shop opening hours
The unions have vowed to fight on against the plans, having already announced a day of action for 28 June which they have described as the “biggest event of recent years”.
The government has defended the legislation, which would not force shops to open but would merely allow them to apply to do so. The reform also reflects not only the changing shopping habits of customers, but also the current opening practices of retailers, a large number of whom already request exceptions to opening hours, Delles told the Luxemburger Wort.
(This article was originally published by the Luxemburger Wort. Translation, editing and additional reporting by John Monaghan)