A large percentage of workers, such as those in health services, the tourist industry, and the hospitality and recreation sectors, are already forced (due to material circumstances), to work on Sundays. If that becomes the norm for the workers in the retail sector under the excuse of “better customer service”, then it could easily be extended to the banking sector and public sector workers (who are already facing working hours adjustments), and this will effectively abolish Sunday as a rest day. Therefore, resisting Sunday Shopping is relevant to the whole society, not just those working in retail.
WE ARE NOT OUT OF TIME TO SHOP, WE DON’T HAVE MONEY TO LIVE ON
At a time when most of the society sees their income reduced and unemployment being on the rise, shops that are open seven days a week do not contribute to the “strengthening of the market” as big capital, their media, and the ministerial councils like to argue, since the real issue is low purchasing power. To the contrary, it will hurt thousands of small (mostly family-run) shops, that will either have to work exhausting hours, or go bust – leaving more people unemployed. As for the measures the Ministry of Labour promises, they are laughable at best, considering their complete inaction when it comes to enforcing overtime payment for workers who are already forced to work on Sundays. At the same time, when dozens of huge retail shops are advertising their illegal Sunday shopping hours, the Ministry claims they are only able to issue fines following an officially filed complaint. Of course, those fines only affect small shops that are forced by the circumstances to open on Sundays. For the larger shops, the fines take up only a fraction of their profit – assuming it’s ever paid.
DO NOT SUBMIT TO THE BOSSES’ BLACKMAIL, BOYCOTT THEM
It is clear that the goal of those measures, mandated by the large capital, is to shut down small businesses and further deteriorate working conditions in retail. In the past few years, thousands of small shops closed down, and thousands of people where laid off. The workers once receiving a respectable 850EUR monthly salary are down by 5000 people, but those working for poverty wages of 350EUR are doubled. As for those working in larger shops, not only they say their wages go down and their working conditions get violated all the time, but they are also beholden to their bosses – bosses who openly threaten with dismissals, blackmailing workers and the whole society unless we submit to their greed. Beyond what’s given, that is we are not shopping on Sundays, when facing such blackmail, our answer to the businesses advocating for Sunday Shopping is nothing less of a boycott.
But since they really want shops open on Sunday,
BOSSES AND MINISTERS SHOULD BE FORCED TO WORK ON SUNDAYS
