Poland Sejm Approves Christmas Eve Day Off and Sunday Rules

Adrian Zandberg, the Razem party chairman, said that introducing a third business Sunday in December while designating Christmas Eve as a day off would feel like a bitter pill for workers in retail and related trades. He expressed cautious optimism that the Senate would approve the amendment to stop trading on one of the Sundays before Christmas.

The Sejm approved the amendment, making Christmas Eve a day off starting next year and stipulating that from 2025 three Sundays leading up to Christmas Eve will remain commercial.

A bitter pill for the trade workers

The Sejm rejected several proposals, including a plan from PiS and the Left to declare December 24 a holiday this year. Razem’s proposal, which would revert to the project’s original intent by making only two Sundays before Christmas Eve commercial, did not secure a majority and the bill now advances to the Senate for further consideration.

Trade unions and workers are left viewing the move as a bitter pill, because proponents from the liberal side pressed hard to push the measure through, intensifying pressure on shop floors and cash registers during the holiday season.

Zandberg commented in a statement given to the Polish news agency, explaining the political dynamics behind the vote and its impact on retail employees.

Until recently Razem MPs sat with the Left Club and abstained from voting on the amendment, a detail that highlighted the political maneuvering around the bill and the need for broad consensus in parliamentary decision making.

Zandberg noted that trade union groups representing cashiers, sales staff, and other retail workers had voiced strong opposition to adding another Sunday of shopping to the law, arguing it would shorten rest time and strain schedules.

He added that the defense of workers would have been possible had turnout allowed a full coalition vote; with a larger turnout, Razem believed the proposed amendment could have passed if the governing party had voted as a unified block.

He pointed out that a number of PiS lawmakers did not take part in the vote, a factor that weakened the chance for approval.

Can the law still be saved?

The Razem leader believes the bill can still be salvaged during committee work in the Senate, if there is the political will to reach a workable compromise.

Resolution remains possible, but it requires real parliamentary will. The Razem leader criticized what he described as triumphalism from liberal factions who believed they could blunt the impact on retail workers, saying the chamber was crowded with an indecent sense of triumph at that moment.

The party said work would resume promptly to secure another free Sunday for workers, and expressed confidence that a solution could be found.

Zandberg’s sarcasm

Adrian Zandberg wryly commented on social media that if PiS MPs had attended the Sejm session in larger numbers, the proposed changes for a free Christmas Eve might have taken effect.

He added that the Liberal platform bears responsibility for the outcome, noting that the absence of fifteen PiS MPs shaped the result and implying that their presence could have tipped the balance elsewhere.

Thinking back to the effort to defend workers against an extra Sunday, Razem’s core amendment that protected the right of cashiers and sales staff to rest was defeated by a small margin, as fifteen PiS MPs were not present in the chamber.

Sejm voice

The left submitted a plan to make Christmas Eve a free day, aiming for changes to take effect this year. During the Economy and Development, Social Policy and Family Committee, the Citizens Coalition proposed changes placing the new rules into effect on February 1, 2025, and making three Sundays before Christmas Eve shopping days.

Under the current rules, Christmas Eve remains a business day until 2 pm, and the two Sundays before it are shopping days.

In the latest vote, 429 deputies participated; 211 voted in favor, 215 against, three abstained and 31 did not participate. The PiS club backed the bill, though fifteen MPs did not vote. Almost the entire Third Way and KO clubs opposed, Konfederacja was split, while Lewica and Razem supported the new provisions.