Katarzyna Ueberhan from The Left (Lewica), one of the three main political groupings of the coalition, said that given the religious and cultural significance of December 24, it should be a day off for all workers, including those in the retail sector.
She told Polish news outlet i.pl: “In reality, it’s half the staff for half a day.
“It’s not a full, real day of work, but a sham.
“We all pretend to be at work, but in reality, everyone is counting the hours to be home with their families.”
She added that working on Christmas Eve made it difficult or even impossible to take part in family gatherings, especially if it requires traveling to a distant location, and that “we will certainly do everything to make it a non-working day this year.”
In response to critics who said the move could have a potential negative economic impact, Ueberhan said that statistics would be inherently inaccurate “because it is not treated by either employers or employees as a regular working day.”
Ueberhan presented the first reading of the draft amendment to the Act on Non-Working Days, in the Polish parliament (the Sejm) on Friday.
President Andrzej Duda has already said that he would sign a law introducing a non-working Christmas Eve.
