Following the government's announcement to extend Sunday opening hours for bakeries and pastry shops, the debate over general weekend shop opening hours is now gaining momentum too: the Bundestag's Economic Affairs Committee and the federal government's tourism coordinator argued on Tuesday for a significant relaxation of the current opening ban. Trade unions objected. 'Sunday is the only reliably plannable day off for employees,' said Verdi federal executive board member Silke Zimmer."
Speaking for the Bundestag's Economic Affairs Committee, its chairman Christian von Stetten (CDU) told the "Bild" newspaper: "The Bundestag decides on Sunday working hours and the federal states decide on Sunday opening hours." He said he was, in both cases, "in favor of a generous expansion of the existing regulations." Previously, the Main Association of German Retail (HDE) had already called for a complete deregulation of Sunday opening hours.
The federal government's tourism coordinator, Christoph Ploß (CDU), stated in the newspapers of the Funke Media Group: "Whether tourists choose Germany also depends on attractive shops and sales offers." He said he could "very well understand" the retail sector's arguments "from a tourism policy perspective as well."
The current regulations still date from a time "when there was no online retail," Ploß continued. "More flexible opening hours would allow German retailers to keep up in competition with online retailers that are always available." He added that more liberal rules would "give German city centers a boost."
FDP leader Wolfgang Kubicki also told "Bild": "Genuine flexibility would be urgently needed. Anyone who wants to keep shops closed by force should not complain about dying city centers."
Silke Zimmer of Verdi took a different view. "One only had to wait for the HDE's proposal to completely scrap the Sunday break in retail - after the federal government had already announced further Sunday work for bakeries and pastry shops," she said. This was, however, "the wrong, employee-hostile approach." Sunday, she said, was "the only reliably plannable day off for employees, on which there is time for physical and mental relief in this exhausting job."
Longer shop opening hours would not automatically bring more revenue, nor would they create lively city centers, Zimmer said. "On the contrary: they are a powerful tool in the displacement competition among large retail groups. They lead to a shift of revenue from rural areas to cities and from small and medium-sized businesses to retail giants, who can organize Sunday work much more easily." The result, she warned, would be "increasingly bleak city centers with the same chains everywhere."
The Social Association of Germany (SoVD) is also opposing a weakening of Sunday protection. "Sunday is constitutionally protected and far more than an economic factor - it is an indispensable day for recreation, family and social cohesion," said the chairwoman of the board, Michaela Engelmeier, to the Funke newspapers.
Sunday work was necessary, she said, "where it serves public services," for example in healthcare or with police and traffic. "In other areas, however, it must remain the exception," Engelmeier emphasized.
The new debate was triggered by the federal government's announcement to extend Sunday opening hours for bakeries and pastry shops. According to a coalition resolution paper published last week, longer Sunday opening hours "for bakeries, pastry shops and libraries" are to take effect on January 1, 2027. The draft from the Federal Ministry of Labour stated that bakeries should be allowed to open on Sundays for up to eight hours, and public libraries for up to six hours.
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