Retail trade - Parts of the JU demand longer store opening hours in Bavaria
Parts of the Young Union are turning against Arbeitsminister Ulrike Scharf (CSU) in the debate on shop closing hours in Bavaria. In an open letter to the state parliamentarians, a series of district, county, and local executive boards of the JU are called upon to advocate for longer opening hours - from 6.00 am to 10.00 pm on weekdays. This would be two hours later than the current regulation.
"The discontent of the population regarding the current regulation and the discussion on the shop closing law is growing," it says in the letter. "We hear this more and more often at information stands. At the same time, the rejecting attitude towards the flexibility of shop opening hours is being linked to the CSU in public opinion."
Just two weeks ago, Arbeitsministerin Scharf had expressed herself negatively about changes. "All previous experiences show that there is no need for it, among other things due to insufficient customer frequency and personnel shortages," her ministry stated at the time. "The legal framework is not yet exhausted in every case."
The signatories of the letter see it differently. No supermarket would be forced to offer extended opening hours, they argue. In addition, consumers were ordering increasingly online. The "current, property-owning attitude" could not be maintained in the long term.
Among the signatories of the letter are the JU chairpersons of the Munich, Lower Bavaria, and Upper Bavaria district executive boards, the Auszubildenden & Schueler Union Bavaria, numerous county executive boards of both organizations, and several RCDS, the student organizations of the Union.
- The Young Union groups from Munich, Lower Bavaria, and Upper Bavaria, along with other affiliated organizations, have penned an open letter to Bavarian state parliamentarians, urging them to support extended retail trade hours from 6:00 am to 10:00 pm.
- The signatories of the letter argue that the Young Union members have been expressing their discontent with the current shop closing hours and the negative association of the CSU party with inflexibility in public opinion.
- Despite Arbeitsministerin Ulrike Scharf's previous negative stance, stating that there is no need for longer opening hours due to insufficient customer frequency and personnel shortages, the letter proponents argue that online shopping trends and evolving property-owning attitudes warrant the reconsideration of shop hours.
- The CSU, through its chairman, the Bavarian Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, has yet to officially comment on the Young Union's open letter asking for a re-evaluation of store opening hours in Bavaria.
