Brussels, 13/02/2009 (Agence Europe) - In a press release, the Commission of the Bishops' Conference of the European Community (COMECE), the Protestant Church in Germany (EKD) and the Church of England welcome the initiative taken by certain MEPs suggesting adoption of a written statement on the “protection of a work-free Sunday as an essential pillar of the European social model”. Submitted on 2 February by Anna Záborská (EPP-ED, Slovakia), Martin Kastler (EPP-ED, Germany), Jean-Louis Cottigny (PES, France), Patrizia Toia (ALDE, Italy) and Konrad Szymanski (UEN, Poland), the statement must receive a majority of signatures (394) by 7 May to be able to be adopted by the European Parliament.
Taking the view that men and women who work on Sundays are put at a disadvantage in their social relationships and that their family life, personal development and even health are adversely affected, the religious bodies point out that a work-free Sunday is an integral part of Europe's cultural heritage, the fruit of a long tradition, and that it is at the base of the European social model. The protection of Sunday cannot be brought into question as, they say, “it is of fundamental importance for family relations but also for social and cultural life”. Regretting that some member states have applied exceptions to this essential principle, in favour of “unrestrained consumption”, the COMECE, EKD and Church of England deplore the fact that Sunday workers have experienced fragmentation of their family lives, while small and medium-sized enterprises which cannot afford uninterrupted opening hours have lost ground in the market place. For these reasons, they unreservedly support the written declaration that aims to “protect Sunday as a weekly rest day in forthcoming national and EU working-time legislation in order to enhance the protection of workers' health and the reconciliation of work and family life”. (I.L./transl.jl)