It is not the first time that the trade unions want to fight for a rest day on December 24. To this end, a proposal is now being submitted, which the government has found suitable to discuss. The initiative is also supported by the Civil Solidarity Forum (CÖF-CÖKA) and its president, László Csizmadia.
The representation of the workers of the retail sector is proposing to the government that the shops remain closed on December 24 - trade union leaders told Világgazdaság about this. The Independent Trade Union of Commercial Workers (KDFSZ) and the Trade Union of Commercial Employees (KASZ) confirmed to our newspaper that
at the end of August, the relevant proposal will be submitted to the Permanent Consultation Forum of the Competition Sector and the Government (VKF),
which then meets.
The trade workers wrote a letter to Márton Nagy
The president of the KDFSZ, Csaba Bubenko, informed that Egyenlő.hu - Modern Trade Union has written to Minister of Economic Development Márton Nagy. In it, they presented their amendment proposal to the Trade Act, according to which December 24 should be a mandatory rest day for workers in the sector. According to the union leader, there was a positive response to their request:
Sándor Czomba, the state secretary responsible for employment policy, requested that their proposal be submitted to the VKF due on August 30.
This will happen anyway, the proposal is presented by Imre Palkovics, president of the National Association of Workers' Councils, who is a member of the VKF.
He especially emphasized that the initiative is also supported by the Civil Solidarity Forum (CÖF-CÖKA) and its president, László Csizmadia.
It will be discussed there, a position will be formed, and if an agreement is reached between the government and the employer and employee side, then the road will be green before the rest day on December 24
- said Csaba Bubenko.
From when is December 24 a day of rest in stores?
Both he and KASZ president Zoltán Karsai said that they would like to achieve this this year, but that it should be introduced in 2024 at the latest. The date of entry into force depends on the date on which the amendment is adopted. Zoltán Karsai also noted that several people thought they were "crazy" for putting the issue on the agenda already in the summer. In connection with this, he noted that this is necessary due to sufficient preparation and careful planning so that customers can prepare for the change. When asked how many chances he sees of ordering a rest day on December 24, he responded by saying that the chances are improved anyway, that this year, for example, December 24 falls on a Sunday.
According to the current regulations, shops are allowed to be open until 2 p.m. that day. At the same time, in order to help department store workers rest and celebrate with their families, the member companies of the National Trade Association decided in 2022 to uniformly close the shops at 12:00 p.m. He recalled that a few years ago, when they tried to negotiate the December 24 rest day with the government, they did not find a willingness to accept it. At the time, the officials referred to the fact that there were enough public holidays in the calendar. However, according to Zoltán Karsai, a lot has changed since then.
Who cares if the shops are closed on December 24?
Csaba Bubenko emphasized that the possible effects were taken into account in connection with the proposal. First of all, he stated that the workers uniformly want the rest day on December 24.
"We are not asking for a shop closure, but a rest day. In principle, the employer would thus have the opportunity to order the employees, but only at an increased hourly wage. At the same time, it logically follows from the mandatory rest day that the shops would be closed on December 24"
he said. According to him, the argument that traders would go bankrupt due to the shutdown is not true and has no relation to reality. He indicated that the retail employees can see exactly the traffic on December 24, and that its loss would not cause a significant loss or a risk to the operation.
Social support is a different matter, especially since the closing of shops on Sunday has become a matter of domestic politics. At the same time, it also appears that neighboring countries are introducing it one after the other, most recently Croatia. But the institution is also known in Slovakia and Austria. However, according to him, society could tolerate the rest day of retail workers on December 24, especially since the majority will be able to stay at home for six days from December 24, 2024, for example.
"We work seven days a week, up to 80 hours, in the retail trade. The long weekend is an unfamiliar concept to us, Easter Sunday and Monday, and December 25-26, all year round. means rest"
he pointed out.
He expressed his appreciation to those who are forced to work on these days as well (doctors, law enforcement agencies, employees of public service companies), but according to him, retail is very different from these jobs:
the possibility of shopping is also provided at other times, even with extended opening hours,
the possible absence of the shopping opportunity on December 24 can be made up on other days, i.e. holiday shopping does not depend on this day.
In a month and a half, it will become clear what decision will be made. In any case, if they really accepted the rest day on December 24, it would bring relief to about 250,000 retail employees.
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