Subject to official checks, the Genevans will vote on November 30 on the extension of the Sunday openings in the stores. The left and the unions filed their referendum against the bill adopted in May on the Grand Council on Wednesday. Their text collected 8088 signatures, almost double the minimum required (4214 initials).
The bill supported by the right majority of Parliament would authorize the stores to open two Sundays a year, in addition to the holiday of December 31. These extended hours would be a priori planned for the Christmas period, “which represents 40% of the turnover of businesses”, recalled this spring the supporters of the measure.
Opponents see them “a deterioration in working conditions and family life” of employees. And this, while December is already “the most painful and exhausting period” for staff. What is more, the project is not linked to a collective labor agreement in the retail sector, denounce the referees. In addition, the Sunday openings would benefit more brands than small traders, depending on the left and the unions. They finally recall that in the past, the people spoke several times against the Sunday openings in stores.