CESP – Union of trade, office and service workers in Portugal on Saturday will start collecting signatures for the closure of trade on Sundays and holidays and for the reduction of hours of work in this sector.
It is a “citizens’ legislative initiative” whose signature collection will begin on the day of the CGTP’s national demonstration in Lisbon on Saturday, trade unionist Marcia Barbosa told Lusa.
The goal, according to the unionist, is to “change the law or create a new law” that calls for the closure of shops on Sundays and holidays and the reduction of store hours to 10pm on other days.
“Workers who leave the malls at midnight can’t keep up with their children and in many cases they don’t have transportation to go home at that time,” Marcia Barbosa said, referring to Portugal as “the only country in Europe where it happens.” “.
According to CESP, over the past 30 years, with successive legislative amendments, the opening of trade on Sundays and public holidays has been normalized, as well as the extension of business hours until midnight, “beneficial only and exclusively to large business companies.”
“Sunday and public holiday rest is a historic achievement for trade workers,” the union said in a statement.
The Citizens’ Legislative Initiative, promoted by CESP, limits opening hours from 6:00 am to 10:00 pm, Monday through Saturday, and closing on Sundays and holidays.