The Belgian government plans to ease restrictions on shops, allowing them to remain open until 9 p.m. and abolishing the mandatory day off.
Supermarkets in Belgium will now be allowed to stay open an hour longer, until 9 p.m., and operate daily without closing on Sundays.
Currently, retail outlets such as supermarkets, clothing stores and electronics stores are required to close at least one day a week and cannot operate after 8 p.m. (only on Fridays are they allowed to stay open until 9 p.m.). The new rules are expected to be officially approved on Friday.
The decision to liberalise shop opening hours was taken as part of the coalition agreements when the current government was formed in January. The new rules will give shop owners more flexibility in setting their working hours, but they do not oblige them to open on Sundays or stay open until 9 p.m.
Earlier, the possibility of extending working hours until 10 p.m. was considered, but some coalition members expressed concerns that this could put pressure on small businesses, forcing them to compete with large retailers.
Opposition representatives supporting business interests expressed the view that the government should have insisted on extending working hours until 10 p.m. At the same time, the Flemish Association of Cities and Municipalities stated that the proposed change had no practical use, as the current working hours are rarely used to their full extent.
The High Council for Self-Employed and Small Businesses also expressed concern about the possible increase in the burden on small businesses.
In February, Finland saw a multi-day strike by retail workers, which was joined by employees of most chain grocery stores across the country.
