Referendum on Working Sundays Would be a Flop

Croatian Economy, Labour and Entrepreneurship Branko Vukelic believes a referendum on working Sundays is not a solution.

According to the minister, a referendum would be a flop, which is confirmed by the example of Slovenia, which conducted a referendum that offered no solutions. 

-- We should invest maximum effort and find a solution that would satisfy both the workers and employers – Vukelic said.

Concerning Slovenia’s example, their referendum cost three million euros and proved to be in vain because social partners disagreed.

-- The Slovene work problem lasted for five years and was only solved last year when a collective agreement for trade was introduced – said the president of the Slovene Trade Employers’ Association, Bostjan Grom.

The referendum in Slovenia banned stores from working on Sundays, but was quenched by the Constitutional Court. In the end, an agreement was made to have stores work a maximum of 26 Sundays in a year.

Stores would be open during the summer 

The Croatian Economy Ministry believes that stores should be open on Sundays during the four summer months, from June to September. During the rest eight months, stores would be open only in exceptional cases, meaning gas stations, kiosks and bakeries.

On the other hand, the Church and Croatian Trade Union oppose this suggestion, writes Jutarnji list.

-- Of 60,000 merchants, 40,000 work every Sunday and most of them are insufficiently paid – said Ana Knezevic, president of the Trade Union.