Germany rejects Sunday shopping

MOU - It's absolutely clear that there are services, that have to be carried out even on Sundays. For example doctors cannot say: "Sorry, it's Sunday I can't revitalise you today, come back tomorrow!"; and the blast furnace of a steel works can not be stopped for one day in the week too. Those are jobs that have to be executed each day because they are absolutely necessary. But is it really necessary to be able to buy cars, clothes, electronics, et cetera on every day in the year?

Personally I worked for some time in a job where I had only about every forth weekend a day off. It was a time where it was not easy to get some friends together on one day. I'm happy that I don't have to work on sundays anymore.

of course that we can't compare police, doctors or firefighters with shopowners and their employees. But, main thing is that government should not ban working Sundays but rather provide free day for everyone.
Because, for example, in my street there is one small shop without employees. Husband and wife own it and they are only workers. And it's all money they earn. Why should government forbid them to work on Sundays if they want to?

By the way, I work in daily papers so my only free days in year are days before holidays before newspapers are not out on holidays, so I understand what you are saying

Re: Germany rejects Sunday shopping


Germany an all-Christian society??? You definitly speak of a Germany that I don't know. As far as I know only about 67% of German people are Christians. But hey, perhaps I only have a "ancient and obsolete world view" and Germany has changed that much since my last visit.

MOU - The main thing is that that governmant should generally not allow working on Sundays (or any other day in the week) unless it's a service that has to be executed on this day. That's my point of view.

Of course I don't see any problem if a shop owner without employees desides to open every day in week.

Re: Germany rejects Sunday shopping

Well yeah I guess you're right there.
Now what I actually wanted to point out is that Germany is IMO pretty conservative when it comes to rulings like this. And when it's not a conservative decision that keeps an initiative from being realized then it's the all-German bureaucracy.
And yet another fact you might want to consider is that those judges who ruled shops not to be open on Sundays are extremly likely to be Christians themselves. So when talking about an all-Christian society I was also talking about the ruling body of Germany:
The Bundesrat and the Bundestag elect the judges of the Bundesverfassungsgericht - that is to say that mostly Christian politicans of both German legislative chambers vote some more Christian judges into office at the highest federal court of Germany.

To the rest of the discussion I would like to add that I agree with the opinion that the government should absolutely not keep shopowners from opening their stores on Sundays or public holidays.
There are some voices in Germany saying that allowing shops to be open on holidays will eventually kill smaller independet shops which in the end will result in higher unemployment rates.
Now those living in Europe know that the German government did its best to actually kill any kind of economical growth - resulting in rocketing unemployment rates.
So in my opinion allowing shops to open on Sundays and public holidays would actually boost the economy by throwing a whole bunch of vacancies on the begging workforce-market. Sure daddy won't be home for Sunday but daddy is gonna bring you some bread on Monday - and just as that American guy pointed out we Germans get way more holidays than any other industrialized nation would every grant. I mean who cares about a Sunday or two when you get a few months off anyway.
And for those saying that employees would be fired for not wanting to work on Sundays: First of all if you really don't want to work just because it's freakin Sunday then get fired cuz you don't deserve any better. And second of there is a hell lot of laws in Germany that prevent German workers from working more than..I don't know round 30 or 36 hours a week...so Germans being enslaved just because shops open on Sundays simply won't happen.

hamster -
1) When decisions conserve something good then those "conservative" decisions aren't necessary bad.

2) I don't think it's a mainly religious topic. I am Christian and I would have no problem if the free day in the week is friday, saturday, sunday. In my opinion it's a major social/economical topic.

btw. do you have data/a link which confirms your theory that the ruling body of Germany is all-Christian?

And when the next crisis is coming you add an eigth day to week.



Perhaps it's rather this attitude, that you are showing, that kills any kind of economical growth. Moaning about how bad the German government works, how bad the German economic system is, how bad the German institutions are, how ancient and obsolete the world view of the German society or its ruling body is. Perhaps you rather need a more optimistic attitude towards life, education and work in Germany than another day you can go shopping. Notorious pessimism won't bring the German economy anywhere!

owi -
1. Sure conserving good things like the nature totally rocks. But why is conserving a general day off for everyone a good idea? What about real hardworking persons who have to work from Monday through Saturday - wouldn't it just be one of those kick-butts things for them to be able to go shopping on Sundays?
2. You think it's a social/economic issue. Why is that. What does that have to do with anything? Why are you telling me?
3. I don't have any statistics on the religious background of the politicans in charge. I just derived that comment from common sense. It's just the way the States works. Ever seen a Hispanic, Black, or Asian take office in the White House? Could you take the words "Muslim" or "Jew" in your mouth, look at German politicans and say "Yes I think that one could me non-Christian.". Sure there might be single individuals of non-Christian background, but we're talking about the ruling body here right? You know like ruling body = majority and crazy stuff like that.
4. I'm not talking about solving Germany's problem forever and all times by allowing people to work and basically live on Sundays. I'm talking about giving the economy yet another possibility and yet another good outlook. Sure it won't make Germany become as rich as Switzerland but it really may be a small step ahead. You know like small steps adding eventually up to cause good for the people.
5. I'm sorry there my Austrian buddy, but that was by far the most hilarious thing (beware of sarcasm) I've ever read. What does my attitude have to do with anything? What IS my attitude? Where do you get BS like that? I mean if you're really interested in reality then why don't you give google a chance (klick on "News") and do a little research on unemployment rates in Germany and what all those extra charges paid by employers have to do with thousands of German companies running east for our new EU members.
Just take your love-beats-evil stuff and put it up yours there pal, cuz smoking pot and telling others about being more optimistic simply won't help it.

Hamster has been on the treadmill too long, he needs a break.

We've had sunday trading in the UK for around 10 years or so. Most of the national chains will open, and many (but not all) of the smaller local chains and independent shops). The hours are usually shortened (not sure by convention or by law) to 10am to 4pm (rather than the usual 8:30 or 9am till 5:30 or 6pm).

There was much debate about forcing employees to work on sundays, but it basically goes by the contract of employment. Existing employees' contracts would not mention Sunday working, so they could not be made to work. New emplyees' contracts were obviously then written to include Sunday hours if necessary, so they would work the Sunday shifts.

I work in railway engineering, and we have work-gangs out on the tracks every weekend of the year, as Sat night/Sun morning is the only the lines can be closed for essential engineering work without disrupting millions of people's journeys too much.

Although it seems as if many people are not bothered about shopping on Sundays, in Britain at least there is a big cultural thing for going to the pub for a few drinks and maybe the traditional Sunday Roast. After Friday & Saturday nights, Sunday lunchtimes can be a pub's busiest shifts.

Can we spare a thought for all the chefs, cooks, dish-washers, waiters & barstaff who work most weekends just so the rest of us can have a few drinks and some food?

I always had the view that Germany was a fairly forward-looking place, and Britain was the old-fashioned one, but maybe I was wrong!

Yeah Steve the one with the wheel I know I know...

Well Duke, do those guys who work on Sundays have another day of the week off?

Probably. My point was that people who complain about working in shops on Sundays are being very hypocritical by then going to the pub for some dinner & a couple of pints instead.

I used to work in the payroll department of an engineering company, and we'd have numerous complaints from (very well-paid) staff about how much they were paid, the hours they worked, the amount of travelling time etc etc. I got so sick of this that one day I told one of them that if he thought the company was so crap, he should leave. He stopped complaining after that.

First, I don't think that the government should mandate when shops close. It should be up to the storekeeper. There is a problem though, if a store is in a mall. If all the other stores are open, the store owner who wants to close on Sundays, IS at a disadvantage. But it ought to be his or her choice.

Most people work M-F, so Sunday shopping is a real convenience.

Most people brought up in a more liberal market economic system will say it's up to the OWNERS.
Most people from more socially-oriented countries (northern Europe etc.) will say it must be STATE REGULATED.
Most people from syndicate-capitalist dualisms will say its either to the owners, or the SYNDICATE, depending on their $tatus.
Most people from communism will say "what?".

I say let's focus on exploration instead of consummation

Re: Germany rejects Sunday shopping


The Germans are doing the proper thing. As far as it being a Christian country, I don't see what's wrong with that. So is the United States of America.

How the heck can the average person buy ANYTHING if the stores close at 5:30 on a weekday? That makes about as much sense as, well, it makes no sense. This is why so many of my German friends who have relocated to the U.S. have no intention of ever returning except to visit. 7/11 pioneered the idea of the 24-hour "store" in the U.S., but now many grocery stores are open 24x7. Most retailers are open until at least 8:00 PM (one notable exception - automotive repair shops). Every gas station is automated and open around the clock.

I probably would go nuts if I had to live in Europe for an extended period.

1. I hope it's not against TOS to offend Germans that are not members of forum? But, IF what you are telling is truth then I can only say that you have to be pretty retarded to move to another country because shops are open 24 hours a day.

2. You don't have to live in Europe, but it would do you good to visit it and open your eyes a bit.

3. Nevertheless, if shops in UK are really on weekdays open until 5.30 or 6 that's really totally bizarre. Here not a smallest shop closes before 9.

Really, I don't get it. The idea of resting on a particular day comes from the 10 Commandments in the Bible, and the 10 Commandments specifically say that the rest should be on the seventh day, not the first day. Why then are the Germans trying to mandate a different day than what the 10 Commandments specify?

When the various Teutonic tribes invaded the West, most of them adopted as their name for the seventh day of the week, "Sabbath." Thus the Spaniards even today call the seventh day Sabado, the French call it Samedi, and the Germans call it Samstag. The Oxford English Dictionary says that even the French and German words for Saturday are derived from "Sabbath," which is a word that means "rest" in Hebrew.

So why in the world would the Germans want to make Sunday be the day of rest instead of Samstag?

Glad Germany said No to Sunday shopping
Edit: Moderator: Link Removed - Do Not Promote Your Website on our Forums



While going through the search engines I came across this forum . I'm not surprised by some people that are promoting Sunday shopping. Big business has spent millions to convenience people that people should have freedom of choice. Please spare me on freedom of choice when millions of moms and dads are working and having no time to spend with there kids. No wonder our society has taken the route it has taken. Instead of kids spending the day with there families they are out drinking or getting into some kind of trouble. Today family life should come in first place not last place. The argument always presented to us locally and abroad is that did you ever go to a restaurant, buy gas on a Sunday? The problem I have with that argument they only direct it to retail workers. Why not direct it to a government employee or someone at the bank that has Saturday and Sunday off? I fail to see why it's ok for some people to have week-ends off YET it is a crime for retail staff to want one day out of a week-end off. Remember schools are only open Monday to Friday thus leaving sat and Sunday. Since most retail workers work on Saturday it only leaves us Sundays. I find people today that do not work in retail do not care because they do not have to work those shifts. it's the attitude if it does not effect me I do not care. What kind of a society have we become? At one point in time we all cared about one another. Not no more is this what we all want? And far as I'm concerned it is not essential to flip hamburgers on a Sunday they all deserve the day off as well and that includes holidays. If it is good one it should be good for everyone else. Six days and six nights are enough time to shop . You can't tell me this excuse that you have no time, cause we make time for things that we want to do. We also have a web site if you like to learn more about the debate in our country http://saveoursundays.tripod.com

We applaud Germanys decision they are leading not following