Geneva shops to open three Sundays per year, voters decide
Voters in Geneva have narrowly accepted a new law to allow shops remain open on Sundays. A trial period of three Sundays per year, for two years, will now be tested.
The quiet streets and shuttered shopfronts of Sunday afternoon Geneva are set to be shaken up – at least for a couple of days each year – thanks to the approval of a new law by 52.5% of voters in the western Swiss canton.
Radical Liberal politician Jacques Bené, one of the initiators of the new regulation, said that it was a “victory for Geneva shops and for employment in the sector”. Such a step was important to mitigate the trend of locals travelling abroad to do their shopping, he claimed.
However, he bemoaned the fact that the change would only be made three Sundays per year.
Trade unions meanwhile reacted with dismay. Though the new law will give “important compensation” to employees – double pay on Sunday, time off the week before or after – no overarching collective agreement has yet been negotiated for workers in the retail sector.
The unions called on the retail industry to use the “huge tax gift” that they also received on Sunday (in a separate vote on corporate tax reform, the Geneva rate dropped from 24.2% to 13.99%) to raise salaries and create new jobs. They also plan to oppose plans, currently under discussion, to extend evening opening hours.
It’s not yet clear which three Sundays will be chosen, but two are likely to be in the run up to Christmas.
Ukraine peace conference should include Russia, says Chinese ambassador
This content was published on
China supports a peace conference on the Ukraine war that would see equal participation of all parties, says Chinese Ambassador to Russia Zhang Hanhui.
This content was published on
A majority of Swiss citizens have open attitudes towards various infertility treatments, including even egg donation, which is currently prohibited.
Reports of Swiss cyber fraud almost doubled in six months
This content was published on
The head of the new Federal Office for Cybersecurity (FOC), Florian Schütz, has presented a new strategy after just over four months in office.
Ecological status of Swiss streams insufficient according to study
This content was published on
Pesticide use and obstructions of waterways have a particularly negative impact on sensitive organisms, completely absent in 70% of streams analysed.
Train line between Brig and Domodossola interrupted
This content was published on
One day after a derailment approximately 15 kilometres from the Swiss border, BLS is running buses for passengers between Preglia and Domodossola, in Italy.
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
Store opening hours: a regular vote topic
This content was published on
Not being able to buy groceries because the shops are closed on Sundays and during the week after 6.30pm in many places in Switzerland has surprised and irritated many visitors. But Eva Geel of the Unia trade union sees things differently. “Switzerland has not gone along with the mistaken developments in other countries,” she told…
This content was published on
Economics Minister Johann Schneider-Ammann says major shopping centres within 15km of the Swiss border serving primarily tourists and selling luxury goods can open their doors also on Sunday. The measure, agreed by the government on Wednesday, currently applies to two centres with about 1,400 employees in the Ticino and the Graubünden regions. The decision is…
Many Swiss ‘know little’ about International Geneva
This content was published on
Switzerland invests millions in its strategy towards “International Geneva”, yet many people in the German-speaking region are unfamiliar with it.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.