ISSN 1581-4866 Issue #33 September 23, 2003 . Sunday Shopping Dealt Heavy Blow With a comfortable majority of over 57 percent, voters have decided that most shops will be closed on Sundays. Storeowners have already hinted they might launch legal action against the decision. According to unofficial results released after 99.9 percent of the votes were counted, 57.5 percent of the voters that turned up for Sunday's referendum on the opening hours of stores voted for the closure of shops, while 41.7 percent were against. Keeping in line with past referendums, except those on EU and NATO entry, turnout was at a lacklustre 27.4 percent. According to law, lawmakers must now pass regulations only allowing shops offering basic goods to be open up to ten Sundays a year. The only outlets exempt would be smaller petrol stations and stores in hospitals, hotels, airports, border crossings, and bus and train stations. The results are legally binding and MPs cannot pass any act that would not be in line with the referendum outcome, nor hold another referendum on the same issue, within a year. The referendum proponents, the Trade Union of Retail Workers, was glad about the outcome, and its president, Franci LavraÄ, welcomed the decision reached by "consumers who today were also voters". "We believe we convinced them with the arguments that too many people work Sundays," he said. Quite predictably, employers were not as happy, and hinted that the referendum is not the last chapter of the story. Zoran JankoviÄ, CEO of Slovenia's largest retailer Mercator, cannot imagine how legislators will amend the trade act governing opening hours to comply with the referendum. "I believe that when the act is drafted, it will face numerous challenges at the constitutional court," he told STA. Mercator predicts it will have to fire about 500 workers as a result of the vote. Lay-offs have also been announced by another major retailer, Interspar Slovenija. The referendum was initiated by retail workers after they failed to push through with their proposal for opening hours. Although backed by conservative and leftwing parties, the proponents faced stiff opposition from corporate circles, the ruling Liberal Democrats and the Consumers Association in the run-up to the vote. Not everybody was happy to go to the polls on Sunday: the vote has once again sparked criticism targeted against the referendum as such, since many people feel, according to public opinion surveys, that issues like that should not be decided by voters, but left up to legislators and experts. STA |  |
Source: http://slonews.sta.si/index.php?id=1295&s=53