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The enlargement of the European Union should not bring Sunday trading to retail stores. This is the strong view of commerce trade unions in some of the Central European countries, which will be directly affected by the entry of new member states in May this year. Austrian UNI Commerce affiliate GPA hosted a meeting in Vienna last week, to continue the so-called 'Vienna Dialogue' which they launched a year ago.

Speaking for UNI Commerce and UNI-Europa Commerce, Alex Rüdig expressed strong support for the Vienna Dialogue and promised participation in the unions' initiatives. These will comprise manifestations on First of May in border countries, where trade union  representatives will highlight the risks of working life deregulation in connection with enlargement.

In many of the new member states that enter the EU in May, stores keep their doors open also on Sundays. Particularly large multinationals trade during extended opening hours, some of them actually never close, although their hypermarkets are practically speaking empty at times.

- When new countries join the European Union in May, their people expect not only material benefits but also improvements in  the personal living and working conditions, as well as respect and consideration  for their identity and traditions, says Manfred Wolf of the GPA commerce sector, commenting on the Vienna conclusions. - Also the respect for Sunday as a day of rest belongs to these values.

Europe's commerce unions have repeatedly protested against attempts to introduce Sunday trading. The so-called GATS round of the World Trade Organisation WTO, to liberalise the trade in services, has brought with it a new phenomenon - that of the involvement of trade politicians in social and labour legislation.

A recent example was that of the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) representative to Croatia attacking the country's legislation that bans Sunday trading. In connection with the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland last week, UNI intervened with the IMF management, asking the Fund to ensure that national decisions on issues such as this are respected by IMF representatives in the future.

The Vienna dialogue comprises commerce unions from Austria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Slovakia and Slovenia, and UNI-Europa Commerce.