STOP SUNDAY WORK NOW!
The European Sunday Alliance calls on all politicians in Europe to act
Brussels: One out of three Europeans has to work regularly on a Sunday, contends the European Sunday Alliance. According to the Deutsche Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung (DWI) the Sunday work participation rate is 30 % in EU Member States. The failure of the negotiations on the EU Working Time Directive in 2009 and again last December strengthened the risk of increasing flexible working hours and for related health risks. The European Sunday Alliance expects that a citizen-friendly EU policy should enhance the health and social security of all citizens. Social cohesion is thereby strengthened. Europe is not only an economic but also a social and cultural community.
Social division in Europe
On the occasion of the European Day for a work-free Sunday on 3 March 2013 the European Sunday Alliance calls on all governments and politicians to argue against unsustainable working-time patterns, such as unpredictable on-call duties, broken hours, shift work, unsocial working hours during night and week-end work in the Member States and at EU level. The ‘economisation’ of Sundays and public holidays deepens social divisions at the expense of workers and their families. The common weekly day of rest is a clear and visible sign for the reconciliation of personal, family and professional life. Social protection laws come under pressure, especially in those countries that are significantly affected by the current economic crisis. “We need a Europe-wide Sunday protection” stresses the Alliance which is made up of churches, union, employers and civil society movements and was founded in 2011 in Brussels. With regard to the current European Year of Citizens the European Sunday Alliance draws attention to Sunday as the common weekly day of rest which enables EU citizens to live their citizenship together.
>>> Europe-wide actions on 3 March 2013
The European Sunday Alliance has called on its members and on all citizens to take action on 3 March 2013 as the European and International Day for a work-free Sunday with special activities, church services and information points in order to protest against the danger of the selling-out of Sunday as our common weekly day rest which is part of our European history.
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