The lower house of the Polish Parliament, the Sejm, voted against allowing stores to open on the 24th of December. A trade ban in Poland impedes most stores from opening on Sundays, including this year’s Christmas Eve.
The Polish Parliament (the Sejm) announced today that most stores will not be allowed to open on the 24th of December, in this secular country with a large proportion, though declining, of fervent Roman Catholics.
A centrist Christian political party, Poland 2050, proposed to change the existing trade ban law, which allowed stores to open on Christmas Eve. Today, it was decided that stores cannot open on the 24th of December, changing the current law for every year going forward.
The Polish trade ban law introduced in 2018 has been a debated one.
The law states that on public holidays and Sundays “it is forbidden to trade and perform activities related to trade in commercial establishments” in Poland, with some exceptions. One of these exceptional moments included “the two Sundays preceding Christmas Day (25th of December),” when stores are allowed to open.
The fact that this year’s Christmas Eve coincides with a Sunday sparked political debate about the law.
According to the trade ban, stores should be allowed to open on the 17th and 24th of December, as they are the two Sundays preceding the 25th.
Retail stores turned into post offices to remain open
But Poland 2050 proposed an amendment to the law that would allow stores to open on the 10th and the 17th of December instead. The Sejm decided and announced that “two other Sundays” will allow for shopping this year, and that stores will be closed on the 24th of December.
“Restricting trade [on Sunday] can lead to the strengthening of social bonds, in particular family ties,” the Polish government writes. Mothers constitute a significant group among those employed in retail, and Sunday is often the most convenient time to spend time with children and family.”
It follows that the trade ban should apply on Christmas Eve, instead of on the 10th or 17th of December.
The law does not prohibit every kind of store from opening on Sunday. Exceptions include gas stations, post offices and pharmacies. Some retail stores in Poland managed to avoid the law by becoming post offices, therefore able to open on Sundays. However, Polish authorities cracked down on these cases and prohibited them from opening as well.
Stores allowed to open on the 10th and the 17th instead
The Polish Trade and Distribution Organization (POHID), a Polish employer’s organization, which includes several retail stores, has criticized the trade ban on Sundays for limiting consumer freedom. They referenced a study conducted by the Union of Entrepreneurs and Employers (ZPP) showing that 71% of Poles believe the ban is a violation of their consumer freedom. It also showed that most Poles would prefer to have the option to take two Sundays off per month.
POHID has also criticized the ban for having negative economic effects.
“Representatives of the trade industry agree that restricting trade on Sundays will have a negative impact on the Polish economy and its competitiveness, the state budget, jobs and retail trade, catering, services and logistics, said POHID in 2017. The effects of the act will be felt most severely by students and people who find it most difficult to find a job.”
Though the ban has produced favorable economic results according to the Polish Ministry of Entrepreneurship and Technology, POHID dismissed their study, claiming that its results were unreliable.
