Breaking Sunday trade ban threatened with up to 2 years in prison - draft bill

A draft bill on a Sunday trade ban that is to be filed by the trade union NSZZ Solidarność with the Sejm on Friday envisages a penalty of up to two years imprisonment for breaking the ruling. Gas stations, flower shops, and bakeries  (open until 1 PM), pharmacies and sole proprietorships will be excluded from the ban, according to the draft. Henryk Kowalczyk, head of the government standing committee, claimed the government is looking at the project with interest, as at all citizens' initiatives. Trade will also be allowed on the two consecutive Sundays before Christmas, the Sunday before Easter and the last Sundays of January, June, August and the first Sunday of July. Earlier, Adam Abramowicz, PiS MP and head of the parliamentary panel for promoting entrepreneurship and economic patriotism said that the draft act on banning trade on Sundays may pass through parliament later this year and come into force in January 2017. On April 28, the Solidarity trade union established a committee for collecting signatures for banning trade on Sundays. Until now, as many as 350,000 signatures have been collected, Piotr Duda, head of the union said.