Working VERBOTEN! Sundays in Germany...

Sonja: Waking up early in Sister-in-law's stuffed attic (where we are going to stay until we have found a more permanent place) I noticed how quiet the neighborhood is.

Although located in a fairly urban environment, there are no traffic noises to be heard, no kids on the street, everybody seems to be sleeping in (QED: Roland cuddled in blanket.)

It must be Sunday! Sunday used to be my least favorite day of the week. Why? I got irrevocably traumatized by a thing called Sunday family outings when I was a teen.

Usually dad, who worked hard all week (as did mom, and she took care of household and three kids on top of it but she didn't talk about it) insisted on having regular Sunday family get-togethers that included outdoor activities, visiting (open air) museums, or amusement parks. 

While the patriarch determined the program (family is not a democracy, we didn't get to vote), mom (instead of getting some well deserved rest) got to work some more to prepare picnic food, gather equipment and convince the us kids to tag along. 

Just imagine five people, all living their separate lives during the week, cramped into a rackety VW beetle, driving around for several hours, to have the 'fun' that only one person seemed to want... Desaster was bound to ensue...

But I digress... In Germany there is still a huge controversy about working on Sundays.

The Arbeitszeitgesetz (Act on Working Hours) doesn't allow working on Sundays or public holidays in general, that is of course coming with a number of exceptions in order to be able to guarantee certain vital services such as health care, emergency or grocery shopping and re-fueling at gas stations  ;-)

An employee required to work on a Sunday or public holiday shall get royally paid (+50%) or two days off in lieu during weekdays. Not a bad deal, and people jumped at the opportunity to work for this kind of pay.

But churches of both major religions kept complaining (probably due to lack of Sunday worshippers) and defended the work-free Sundays, which should be used for rest and relaxation, spending time with family (a.k.a. Sunday family outings...), and of course filling benches in their establishments. Well, dear church of any Christian religion, given the repeat scandals, people having to work on Sundays might not be the only reason for empty houses...

Meanwhile a quarter of the German workforce is already quietly working away on Sundays despite labour laws and religious outcry. If I were only able to get a job working on Saturdays and Sundays, it would probably pay for a whole week of freedom  ;-)

To be honest, having enjoyed the economical and individual freedom in Canada, I will miss shopping on Sundays, and having services provided outside my own working hours such as banking, insurance and the likes. I will have to get my whole life reorganized again. And I am worried that one might force a Sunday family outing upon me...