Union protests against “24-hour working”
The trade union, Unia, has started a campaign aimed at protecting people working in retail from very long hours.
It comes just before the House of Representatives’ Economics Committee considers a proposal to abolish limits on the opening times of petrol stations.
At a media conference in Bern on Friday, the union pointed in particular to what it called “a compulsion to work round the clock in the retail trade”.
These hours were being demanded, “so that [retail employers] can gain more market share – and the salespeople have to deal with the associated problems themselves,” said Unia’s Vania Alleva.
Unia said that the proposal being considered on Monday by the committee was a Trojan horse aimed at extending opening hours in general, which it called “an unacceptable attack on our freedom”.
Switzerland has strict regulations on opening hours. Last month the Federal Court upheld a ban on 24-hour opening hours at petrol stations, but attempts continue to be made at cantonal and federal levels to relax the rules.
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