As reported over at Caboodle, some Hungarian grocery chains would prefer to stay closed on Sundays. This of course is in relation to the proposal by the Christian Democrats that Sundays remain a day of rest for all those working in non-essential services. The logic behind the Christian Democrat's support over a work-free Sunday is there, (Sunday traditionally being the Lord's day), but it's completely missing in the grocery chains' arguments. Reál Hungária Élelmiszer and the ubiquitous CBA stores are the two chains that have come out against staying open on Sundays. Now, I readily admit that I'm not a Hungarian labor/corporate lawyer, so I don't know the ins and outs of the laws governing stores, but I find it difficult to believe that a law exists somewhere forcing these stores to remain open on Sundays.

As far as I can tell the case is that these two chains don't want to operate on Sundays, but do so because their competitors are open. Not wanting to lose business to their rivals, they would seek to prevent their competitors from benefiting by not allowing them to operate. As mentioned in the piece, the stores claim that since Sunday traffic is unpredictable, it's frequently not profitable. Fair enough, but if the stores remain open, it's profitable more often than not, meaning that overall, it is profitable, unless of course their business model resembles that of most major airlines.

József Sáling of the Trade Union of Retail Workers said that they will launch a campaign to change people's opinions on the matter, since polls found that Hungarians are overwhelmingly in favor of stores being open on Sundays. Shortening weekday operating hours is also on the agenda, because God forbid grocery shopping be convenient.

As someone who worked retail part-time while completing their undergraduate degree, I know that if the store I worked for had closed on Sundays, I would have had one less day of work per week, as on weekdays I was either in class or writing essays. If I'd wanted a free Sunday, I would have chosen to work elsewhere, which the employees of these grocery chains could do as well if they want their seventh day of rest.