Swiss set to back Sunday shopping

The vast majority of Swiss shops are closed on Sunday

If Swiss shoppers want a Sunday retail fix, they pop down to their local railway station or airport.

Trading laws say they can shop only in airports or one of seven railway stations, and are limited to travel related goods such as books and food.

But this Sunday they can vote to extend the law so that more shops can open.

If they vote yes, it could lead to a big growth in 25 'RailCity' shopping centres. But if it is a no, 150 stores and 2,000 jobs could go.

The Swiss government is pushing the law because it wants a tighter definition of Sunday trading rules and it thinks visitors to the country should not be faced with closed shops when they arrive.

If passed, the law will allow stores to open at any railway station that has a turnover of more than 20m Swiss francs ($16m; £9m) per year, and will increase the variety of products that can be sold.

If it isn't passed, it could mean that the stores already open on a Sunday are operating illegally, and result in them being closed down.

'Nothing will change'

A Sunday trading exception is already made for shops in popular tourist destinations such as St Moritz, Interlaken and Gstaad.

And big retailers say that, if passed, the law will just legalise what is already going on.

The Sunday day off is the oldest institution there is for protecting workers Paul Rechsteiner, Swiss Federation of Trade Unions

"Nothing will change, apart from a few more non-food stores opening in some railway stations," said Martin Schlepfer, a lobbyist for the Migros group, Switzerland's biggest retailer, which has seven stores in airports and 'RailCity' shopping centres.

But calls for wider Sunday trading face stiff opposition from a number of political parties, trade unions and church groups.

The law was due to be passed until the Swiss Federation of Trade Unions obtained enough signatures to call for a national referendum.

It said that the relaxation of Sunday trading laws would worsen working conditions for thousands of poorly paid retail workers.

"The Sunday day off is the oldest institution there is for protecting workers," said Federation president Paul Rechsteiner.

Domino effect

It is also worried that the extension will have a domino effect and lead to many more stores calling for the right to open because of the competition coming from railway station shopping centres.

And it may well be right.

Just three days after the referendum, the Swiss parliament is due to discuss the issue of making it easier for any business to open on a Sunday.

"There is huge pressure from some political parties to open Sundays up for business," said Wolfgang Burgstein from the Catholic Church organisation Justitia et Pax.

But whether there is the demand for even more Sunday shopping is in doubt.

"We don't want to open all our stores on Sundays," said Mr Schlepfer.

"We could legally open our store in Interlaken now, but there just isn't the demand."

Meanwhile, with 360,000 Swiss in industries such as healthcare, transport and tourism already working on Sundays, perhaps it just isn't the day of rest it used to be.