Austria's trade demands: Longer opening times for more sales!

Austria's trade demands: Longer opening times for more sales!

Wiener Neudorf, Österreich - The dispute over the shop opening times in Austria and Germany is heading! In Austria, the Rewe boss calls for the liberalization of opening hours to adapt retail to the needs of modern consumers. "The opening times is nostalgic nonsense," said Haraszti, who wants an expansion of currently a maximum of 72 to 80 hours a week between Monday and Saturday. According to noe.orf.at he also emphasizes that a general Sunday opening is not planned, since the existing tourism zones with Sunday opening are sufficient.

The unions and many dealers are vehemently against it. Martin Müllauer, chairman of the GPA, warns that an expansion of opening hours would only increase stress for employees, since they already suffer from working pressure. The trade association also rejects the claim. Its managing director Rainer Will clarifies that an increase to 80 hours is "not capable of majority". The drugstore chain DM and the Disco Unterkette Hofer share this opinion and support the current status quo.

A look at Germany

In Germany, the debate about longer opening hours and Sunday work is also hotly discussed. The German trade association (HDE) emphasizes that the liberalization of opening hours in the food retail trade had positive effects on the buying behavior of consumers, especially after work in the evening. Nevertheless, there is resistance: The ver.di union and the church are committed to expanding the Sunday openings, since they consider a healthy work-life balance for employees as priority, such as fr.de reported.

These differences show how important it is to find the balance between business interests and employee rights. There is a desire for more flexibility in retail in both countries, but the challenges for employees and smaller companies in the competition remain a central topic.