The Civic Coalition, much like Third Way, is proposing the return of Sunday trading in its platform. In a conversation with TOK FM, workers in retail express their frustration with Donald Tusk, who is advocating a plan that would limit their private time with family by reintroducing Sunday work rules.
A central question emerges: why has the push to lift the Sunday trading ban prompted such a sharp reversal in stance? Who is being targeted and who is meant to feel pleased? Many people have grown used to not shopping on Sundays. When a sale comes along, stores can feel deserted.
Anna Kostrzewa, an employee at a Biedronka store in Krakow, voices anger toward Tusk in the interview, yet she remains open to voting for KO. She notes that in recent years customers have become accustomed to Sunday closures. KO’s plan includes a double wage for Sunday work and a guarantee of two free weekends per month. Still, Anna insists that the most important thing is time spent with family, not money earned.
Why revive this conflict, she wonders. Does anyone need another reminder that families matter and that people deserve time with loved ones? It is a sentiment she feels deeply, asking whether anyone else would forfeit time with a partner, children, or siblings just to keep stores open.
Paulina, another Biedronka employee in Ciechanów, shares a similar view of KO’s proposal.
Let the politicians come and try to do this at our pace. They should see how groceries are stocked—vegetables, fruit, meat, dairy—how sandwiches are prepared. And they should do it quickly, because customers are waiting. And of course on public holidays, Fridays and Sundays, just like before 2018. They would struggle after only a few hours. The physical toll would be too heavy to bear.
Paulina doubts KO can effectively enforce a policy of double pay for Sunday work and wonders how such a plan could be practically applied across different workplaces.
I get only one day off each week. It is often spent alone because my partner works and the children are at school. I would prefer Sunday off so I can take them to the park, visit a lake, or spend time at my mother’s countryside home. I do not want to feel resentment toward others who have a Sunday off and want to shop freely.
Paulina, who votes for PiS, feels more anxious about KO’s proposal the more she considers it, describing it as a looming burden rather than a relief.
Katarzyna, an employee at Kauflandz in Warsaw, also supports a shift in stance, having been a KO voter until now but leaning toward the left in the latest discussion.
“I Deserve a Day of Peace”
Katarzyna responds to the argument that a potential Sunday trading ban would affect other professions that work on Sundays, including doctors and nurses.
Those roles are essential, she concedes, because they save lives. Yet ordinary shoppers often view Sunday shopping as a convenience, not a necessity. The idea that convenience should come at the cost of family time is a concern she voices plainly.
I deserve a day of peace built around time with my husband and daughter, cooking together, sharing a meal, watching a movie, or simply listening to music. One Sunday where the entire family can be together is something many people should have as a regular routine, she adds.
Katarzyna does not hide her confusion about KO’s plan. She wonders why her side allowed PiS to claim the family slogan while defending only personal freedom. If this is the direction, she says, voters may switch sides and look to the left for solutions instead.
As the discussion unfolds, the support base for Tusk’s movement seems to grow more divided among trade workers.
tkwl/TOK FM
Source material and analysis circulate through political circles, with several observers noting that promises may be reconsidered if elections tilt in a particular direction. The discourse continues as parties position themselves for the next phase of the campaign.