Berlin [Germany], July 28: Germany's drive to compete with Chinese imports is colliding with its long-standing tradition of Sunday rest, with policymakers and retailers now asking whether a century-old consensus still fits an economy struggling to regain its competitiveness.
The latest flashpoint came in early July, when the country's coalition government unveiled a package of measures to boost Germany's competitiveness, including plans to let bakeries, confectioneries and public libraries operate longer on Sundays from the start of next year.
However, retail and business associations argue that the changes do not go far enough. The reform only touches federal working-time rules, leaving shop opening hours - regulated by Germany's 16 states - untouched. "The shop closing law is, in my view, a relic of the past," Peter Adrian, president of the German Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said in mid-July. "Retailers should be left to decide whether they want to open their stores on Sundays or not." For many newcomers to Germany, the Sunday shutdown can be a culture shock.
After six days of almost unrestricted shopping, supermarket doors suddenly stay shut, leaving only narrow exceptions such as petrol stations, pharmacies on emergency duty, bakeries for limited hours, and shops at railway stations, airports and in designated tourist areas.
Sunday is a day of rest - a belief rooted not only in Christian tradition but also in constitutional law. First enshrined in the 1919 Weimar constitution, it remains protected under Germany's Basic Law today.
But economic realities are putting that tradition under pressure.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has repeatedly argued that the country must work harder to restore its competitiveness.
After a visit to China this year, he said that "with work-life balance and a four-day week, long-term prosperity in our country cannot be maintained". Retailers say they are already feeling the strain. In a mid-July survey of 600 companies by the German Retail Federation (HDE), 69 per cent reported falling profits, with its president, Alexander von Preen, saying sentiment had sunk to levels last seen in the second Covid-19 lockdown.
"Sunday has changed. For many people it is a day of leisure, on which restaurants, cultural venues and leisure facilities are naturally open," HDE managing director Stefan Genth told Deutsche Presse-Agentur. With online retailers already free to sell on Sundays, physical shops should be allowed to open occasionally too, he argued.
The rise of Chinese e-commerce platforms is adding to the pressure. An April study by the German Economic Institute, commissioned by HDE and based on a survey of 4,000 consumers, estimated that Temu and Shein alone cost the German economy €2.4 billion (US$2.7 billion) a year in lost value added, including €1.3 billion in retail, and more than 40,000 jobs.
Opposition comes chiefly from unions and churches. Sunday work in retail was "an attack by employers on the work-life balance of more than 3 million retail employees", Silke Zimmer, a member of the United Services Trade Union's federal executive board, said in the magazine Politik & Kommunikation in July, calling Sunday the only reliable day off for many workers.
The union has said it would take the fight to the Federal Constitutional Court if necessary.
In a landmark 2009 ruling, the court said commercial interests alone could not justify expanding Sunday trading.
Source: Qatar Tribune