Press secretary for the Polish Episcopate, father Jozef Kloch has stated that the Church is strongly against working Sundays for the personnel of shops, service centers and large markets. He argued that the lack of an appropriate law banning such activity has enabled employers to create a system forcing their staff to work on Sundays. Father Kloch added that a labor free Sunday is the right of every Man and the work of parents on holidays is detrimental to family life.
Responding to the same issue, the Business Center Club, an organisation of Polish entrepreneurs, has appealed for a flexible approach, mainly because of the high unemployment rate in Poland which has again exceeded 18% of the workforce. The BCC has underscored that it shares the opinions of both the trade unions and the Catholic Church that all people have a right to Sunday rest. However, the organisation is concerned with the possibility of more people losing their jobs and small businesses cooperating with the big chains incurring considerable losses as a result of introducing a ban on trade and services on Sundays. The Business Center Club is proposing a public debate on the matter, asking for a common sense judgement.
Meanwhile, the Catholic rooted League of Polish Families, backed by populist SelfDefense, has tabled a project in the Lower House for a law banning only big shopping centers from doing business on Sundays.
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