In April 2005, the Constitutional Court ruled that Article 17 of the Law on Retail Trade, restricting the opening hours of shops on Sundays, is not incompatible with the Constitution of the Republic of Slovenia. The ruling is seen as a victory for the Trade Union of Retail Workers of Slovenia. As a result, from 1 January 2006: shops selling basic goods may open on up to 10 Sundays a year; small shops at petrol stations, hospitals, hotels, airports, border crossings and railway/bus stations, which sell essential goods, may open without restrictions on Sundays; and other shops must be closed on Sundays.
On 24 October 2002, parliament adopted amendments to the Law on Retail Trade (LRT), using a shortened procedure, that enabled retailers to determine freely the opening hours of their shops on Sundays and public holidays, though only with the consent of the employees. The Trade Union of Retail Workers of Slovenia (Sindikat delavcev trgovine Slovenije, SDTS) - an affiliate of the Union of Free Trade Unions of Slovenia (Zveza svobodnih sindikatov Slovenije, ZSSS)(SI0210102F) - was strongly against the amendments and, some days later, requested that the National Council (Drzavni svet, DS) issue a 'delay veto' over the amendments. Such a veto requires that the first chamber of parliament, the National Assembly (Drzavni Zbor, DZ), decide again on a given law prior to its promulgation. This postpones the adoption of a law by one week and is the strongest power of the DS - a representative body for social, economic, professional and local interests that constitutes the second chamber of parliament and has relatively weak powers under the Constitution (SI0207103F). If no veto were issued, SDTS announced that it would prepare to call a legislative referendum on the issue. The veto was not forthcoming and parliament adopted the amendments to the LRT.
SDTS wanted to restrict the work of retail workers on Sundays by pressing employers for high supplements for Sunday work. Therefore it began to negotiate the amount of the Sunday supplement with retail employers, but the talks were not successful. At first, SDTS demanded a supplement of 130%, later dropping this to 100%. However, the employers offered a supplement of 60% only.
Because the negotiations were not successful and SDTS failed to push through a proposal on opening hours, it continued with the referendum on the opening hours of shops, which was held on 21 September 2003. Although backed by conservative and left-wing parties, the proponents faced stiff opposition in the run-up to the vote from corporate circles, the Liberal Democracy of Slovenia (Liberalna Demokracija Slovenije, LDS), which was at that time the governing political party, and the Slovenian Consumers’ Association (Zveza potrošnikov Slovenije, ZPS). The referendum turn-out was only 27.5% and 57.5% of those participating voted for the closure of shops on Sundays, while 41.7% were against.
By law, the results of the referendum were legally binding for the legislator and parliament could not, within the next year, pass any law that was not in line with the referendum outcome, nor hold another referendum on the same issue. Parliament was obliged to amend the LRT. Its amendments (see below for fuller details), adopted in February 2004, allowed only shops offering 'essential goods' to open on up to 10 Sundays a year. The only outlets exempt from any Sunday opening restrictions would be those in smaller petrol stations and stores in hospitals, hotels, airports, border crossings, and at bus and train stations that have limited floor area. The amendments should have come into force 15 September 2004
Article 17 of the LRT
Article 17 of the LRT, following the parliamentary amendments, provided as follows:
- shops may operate during the hours determined by the shopkeeper, considering the needs of the consumers and the number of employed workers in the shop and their rights, obligations and responsibilities arising from the employment relationship determined by the law that determines labour relationships - especially regarding the arrangement of working time and overtime work, night work, breaks and rest periods, annual leave and other absences from work - and in accordance with restrictions determined by the regulations in the field of protection from noise;
- a shopkeeper is not, in general, allowed to open a shop on Sundays or on statutory holidays;
- however, shops selling 'essential goods' may open up to 10 Sundays a year, except shops at petrol stations, shops with a limited floor area (see below) in hospitals and hotels, and at airports, border crossings and railway and bus stations, which can open without restrictions;
- 'shops selling essential goods' are those in whose stock of goods more than half of the goods are those classified as 'essential goods' (see next point);
- 'essential goods' are goods that consumers buy frequently, as a rule on a daily basis, without any special consideration and on whose purchase they do not spend much time. The minister responsible for trade prescribes essential goods in greater detail in an executive regulation, taking into account the Order on the Introduction and the Use of the Standard Classification of Activities (Official Gazette of the RS, No. 2/02);
- 'shops in hospitals and hotels, and at airports, border crossings and railway and bus stations' are shops which operate within the framework of enclosed areas of these locations or their enclosed complexes; and
- a 'limited floor area' is the total shopping area of a shop at a certain location that amounts to 80 square metres.
Constitutional Court ruling
On 14 May 2004, Mercator, Kompas MTS, Era, Petrol and other retail companies (which had warned of a loss of jobs because of the Sunday opening ban) asked the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Slovenia (Ustavno sodišče Republike Slovenije, USRS) to test the constitutionality of the amended Article 17 of the LRT, which restricted the opening hours of shops on Sundays. The companies stated that the LRT was in contradiction with the principle of free economic initiative and several other constitutional principles.
On 1 July 2004, the USRS postponed the date on which LRT amendments were to come into force, with a new date to be determined when the USRS issued its final ruling.
On 21 April 2005, the USRS ruled that the Article 17 of the LRT is not incompatible with the Constitution. The only exception is paragraph seven of Article 17, which has thus been repealed by the USRS. Paragraph seven determines that the maximum floor area of shops that can open without restrictions on Sundays is 80 square metres. The USRS is of the opinion that, among other problems, this maximum area was determined 'by chance' and in an arbitrary way without any grounds.
The USRS decided that the amended LRT will now come into force on 1st January 2006. In this way, retailers should have enough time at their disposal to adapt to the new conditions and the legislator enough time to prescribe a new floor-area limit for shops at certain locations that may open without restrictions on Sundays, thus avoiding a legal gap.
The USRS’s decision is a victory for SDTS, which has sought Sunday opening restrictions since 2002. From 1 January 2006, the rules on Sunday opening will differ for three types of shops:
- shops selling essential goods may open from Monday to Saturday and in addition on a maximum of 10 Sundays a year;
- shops at petrol stations, in hospitals and hotels, and at airports, border crossings and railway and bus stations, and which also sell essential goods, may open without restrictions on Sundays, if their floor area is below a certain limit, which is now to be determined anew; and
- other shops will be closed on Sundays.
Commentary
The employers say that many shop workers in the largest supermarket chains are likely to lose their jobs. For example, Mercator has stated that 538 of its employees will lose their jobs if the amendments are brought into force. (Stefan Skledar, Institute of Macroeconomic Analysis and Development)