As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 22nd of February, 2020, restricting the work of shops on Sundays seems to be a new stumbling block in the Government of PM Andrej Plenkovic, according to a report from Jutarnji list on Saturday.
The Croatian Government, as it stands now, will have a hard time pushing for a proposal in Parliament to restrict the operation of shops on Sundays, and it also indicates that the topic could spark fraying relations between the parties in the ruling coalition once again. HNS has announced that it will not support HDZ’s proposal to put the key in the locks of shop doors on Sundays, according to the publication.
This can be felt in the answers received by Jutarnji list from the leading Croatian parties. While in some parties they don’t yet want to come out openly with their official position on whether or not to restrict the operation of shops on Sundays, in others, including HNS, they openly oppose this.
”As a liberal party, HNS opposes all forms of bans, including Sunday bans, because we believe that this isn’t something that should be regulated by the state, but solely by the laws of the market. We believe that everyone should have the right to choose whether or not they want to work on Sundays, but we’re also of the opinion that those working should feel valued, and therefore we advocate that, with the prescribed enforcement mechanisms, they’re paid twice as much for working on Sundays than working on a regular business day,” HNS said.
In that particular party, they refer to the experiences of other countries, pointing to the example of neighbouring Montenegro, in which a ban on shops operating on Sundays resulted in a decline in employment.
“HNS, as a party for which workers and entrepreneurs are a high priority, cannot allow this. Therefore, as a result, HNS will not support this HDZ initiative, nor will it support other similar legal solutions,” HNS said.
HSLS, a party that also supports PM Andrej Plenkovic’s Government, is also openly opposed to restricting work on Sundays. HSLS estimates that the Croatian economy is already over-regulated and that it should not be further regulated, and thus the restriction of the work of traders and shops on Sundays should not come into force.
They also recall the Constitutional Court’s previous decisions in this area, and fear that any restriction on the operation of shops on Sundays would merely open a proverbial Pandora’s box of legal uncertainty, Jutarnji list reported.
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