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Athens News Agency: News in English, 08-12-26
CONTENTS
[01] Shops open on Sunday
[01] Shops open on Sunday
The Athens prefecture on Friday reversed its previous decision, taken
on Christmas Eve, and will allow shops within its jurisdiction to open
on Sunday, Dec. 28, following a groundswell of criticism by merchants'
groups and the government, which demanded an extra shopping day to
ameliorate the repercussions from riots earlier in the month and a
sluggish holiday sales season.
Athens Prefect Yiannis Sgouros, the former president of the
weightlifting federation and a noted PASOK party cadre, said the
decision applies only for the specific day, with store employees'
voluntary participation and under the provisions of labor laws
regarding Sunday employment, i.e. extra pay or an additional day off.
The prefecture had come under sustained criticism on Wednesday after a
majority of the prefectural council cited opposition by unions to
oppose the measure, while saying, initially, that only stores in Athens
proper should open and not in outlying municipalities, including ones
in northern Athens that host the Greek capitalās biggest shopping
malls.
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