Shops will not be allowed to open on more Sundays after all.
The Council of States narrowly rejected a proposal to triple the number of permitted Sunday openings from four to 12 each year — by 22 votes to 21, with the chamber president casting the deciding vote.
The bill came from canton Zurich and would have left individual cantons to decide whether to take it up. Geneva senator Carlo Sommaruga led the opposition, calling it a "frontal attack" on worker protections and warning that staff would lose their right to Sunday pay supplements.
The vote is a setback for shops trying to compete with cross-border outlets and online sellers.
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