Luzern puts expanded shop opening hours to a vote

Voters in the canton of Luzern will decide on September 27 whether to allow longer opening hours for farm shops and other unattended stores, SRF reported. The proposed change would permit qualifying businesses to open daily from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m.

The revision to the canton’s rest-day and shop-closing law would apply to unattended farm shops and smaller self-service stores with sales areas of up to 30 square metres. Shops near electric charging stations would also be treated like conventional petrol station shops.

Under current rules, shops in Luzern may remain open until 7 p.m. on weekdays. They must close at 5 p.m. on Saturdays and on days before public holidays. Petrol station shops are an exception and may open until 10 p.m. every day.

Trade unions and the Luzern Retailers’ Association launched a referendum against the proposal, with support from the Swiss People’s Party and the Social Democratic Party. They argue that the liberalisation should apply only to farm shops.

“Farms already work on Sundays. But we do not want to relax opening hours for unattended containers that could ultimately compete with farm shops,” said Marcel Budmiger, a Social Democratic member of the cantonal parliament and head of the Luzern trade union federation.

The Centre Party, the Free Democratic Party and the Green Liberal Party support the revision. They rejected a special rule for farm shops because defining them would be difficult, said Ursula Berset, a Green Liberal member of the cantonal parliament.

“If this is rejected, we will not have a solution for farm shops for years,” Berset said.

The proposal would also give shops at fast-charging stations the same rules as petrol station shops. Supporters said this would create equal conditions and contribute to decarbonisation. Opponents said it would significantly expand Sunday work and lead to many more shops at electric vehicle charging stations.

The Luzern government says the amendment would make it easier for farms to sell their products directly and adapt shopping to modern lifestyles.

The debate follows failed attempts to loosen opening hours in 2006, 2012 and 2013. A limited relaxation was approved in 2020. Budmiger described the latest proposal as another step towards the complete liberalisation of shop opening hours.

Voters in Luzern will also decide on proposals concerning fan violence, the expansion and conversion of Reussbühl cantonal school, and funding for business development from revenue generated by the OECD minimum tax.