Mixed reaction to Economic and Social Council ruling against Sunday shop opening
Following two months of discussions regarding the issue of shops opening on Sundays, the French government referred the matter to the Economic and Social Council (CES). In February 2007, the CES issued an opinion, which advocated keeping Sunday as a rest day, except in certain cases. The proposals have generated a mixed response from the social partners.
Background
In December 2006, the debate on introducing Sunday opening hours in shops was relaunched following several legal disputes on the issue. As a result, the French government referred the matter to the Economic and Social Council (Conseil économique et social, CES) for discussion.
On 28 February 2007, the CES made a decision, based on 143 out of 184 votes, that in order to conserve social balance, it was necessary to generally maintain Sundays as a day of rest in the retail sector. Nevertheless, the CES recognised the need to adjust the current regulations from time to time.
The law already provides for exemption from the ban on Sunday working in the following instances:
- for certain establishments involved in a range of activities that cannot be interrupted for technical reasons or whose continuity is necessary for the well-being of society; this encompasses food shops which are permitted to open on Sunday mornings;
- by means of an exceptional dispensation awarded by the prefect (préfet) – the local representative of the state.
Debate over Sunday opening
Between December 2006 and February 2007, the debate on Sunday opening in shops was reignited due to a legal dispute over the opening of certain retail outlets, including the Louis-Vuitton outlet on the Champs-Elysées in Paris, the Plan-de-Campagne shopping district in Marseille in southern France and the Usine Centre in Vélizy-Villacoublay in the Yvelines district. Accordingly, the issue of Sunday as a rest day was posed as a societal choice and also in terms of the potential effects of Sunday opening on consumer habits and employment, as it was likely to largely benefit supermarkets to the detriment of small local shops.
In February 2007, a national campaign in favour of retaining Sunday as a day of rest was launched. Taking part in the campaign were the five trade union confederations – which are all largely opposed to Sunday opening in general, arguing that it would jeopardise the work-life balance which has been achieved for workers – along with several employer organisations, including those involved in clothes and shoe retailing. However, other employers such as the company Phone House contend that Sunday opening would make it possible for employees to increase their purchasing power by between 20% and 50%.
CES statement and proposals
After the matter was referred to the CES, the latter issued the following recommendations:
- to refuse an increase in the possibilities for Sunday opening, as this would jeopardise essential social relationships;
- to limit Sunday opening to five Sundays a year, as is the case at present, thus meeting consumers’ expectations in the run-up to Christmas and during the sales;
- to call for a strict definition of tourist zones in order to prevent certain retail outlets from finding legal loopholes.
Regarding adjustments to the existing legal regulations, the CES made the following proposals:
- to abolish the possibility offered to prefects to adopt a by-law regarding closure and the prolongation of retail food shops’ opening hours until 1pm;
- to standardise the authorisation of Sunday opening for shops in tourist zones, which should be collective and thus apply to all shops. The size of such zones should be brought up-to-date;
- to underpin the right to the exceptional dispensation regarding five Sundays a year. The CES proposes that each shop should choose the date which suits it best, on condition that it informs the prefecture after consultation with the social partners. The voluntary nature of Sunday working for employees should remain in place.
Reaction of social partners
On the employer side, the private employers’ group the Movement of French Enterprises (Mouvement des entreprises de France, MEDEF) and the group representing public employers approved the CES proposals.
Overall, three trade union confederations voted in favour of the CES proposals: the French Christian Workers’ Confederation (Confédération française des travailleurs chrétiens, CFTC), the French Confederation of Professional and Managerial Staff – General Confederation of Professional and Managerial Staff (Confédération française de l’encadrement – Confédération générale des cadres, CFE-CGC) and the French Democratic Confederation of Labour (Confédération française démocratique du travail, CFDT). CFTC insisted on the importance of having the same rest day for organising family and social life, fearing that any challenge to this principle would lead to a consumerist society. For its part, CFE-CGC indicated that it would be beneficial to employees, especially executives, if they were able to issue a written statement agreeing to work on Sundays in a clear and unequivocal way.
However, three trade union confederations abstained from approving the CES proposals: the General Confederation of Labour (Confédération générale du travail, CGT), the General Confederation of Labour – Force ouvrière (Confédération générale du travail – Force ouvrière, CGT-FO) and the National Federation of Independent Unions (Union nationale des syndicats autonomes, UNSA). CGT is against the various adjustments proposed by the CES and intends to continue its efforts to reduce as much as possible the number of employees working on Sundays and to prevent any extension of dispensations regarding Sunday as a rest day. CGT-FO disagrees in particular with the proposal to extend authorisation for Sunday opening to all shops in tourist zones; it argues that such dispensations and extensions run the risk of jeopardising agreements signed by the social partners.
The Minister of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs), Trade, Craftwork Industry and the Professions, Renaud Dutreil, expressed his disappointment with the proposals, arguing that the CES compromise did not go far enough. Minister Dutreil highlighted that he wanted to follow the example of the Spanish model, allowing all small shops to open on Sundays.
Odile Join-Lambert, Institute for Economic and Social Research (IRES)