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Geneva could vote again on Sunday shop openings

Geneva could vote again on Sunday openings
Geneva could vote again on Sunday openings Keystone-SDA

Geneva parliament's approval of shops opening on two Sundays a year in addition to 31 December could be challenged by a referendum.

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Geneva citizens have already voted three times on this issue, which aims to support local businesses in difficulty. The latest bill on Thursday was accepted by 63 votes to 33.

It amends the law on shop openings to make it easier to open on two Sundays a year. December 31, which is a public holiday in Geneva, is treated as a Sunday and is already subject to this system.

In 2016, Swiss voters agreed to allow shops to open on three Sundays a year, provided that an extended collective labour agreement existed in the sector.

However, these negotiations were never concluded. In 2019, it passed a two-year experimental law to allow these openings without a collective labour agreement. But this system was rejected in a 2021 referendum.

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