Bruxelles: European Churches call the European Union and its Member States to protect Sunday as a weekly day of rest (16 March 2009)

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European Churches call the European Union and its Member States to protect Sunday as a weekly day of rest

The plenary meeting of the Church and Society Commission of the Conference of European Churches (CEC), adopted unanimously on 14 March 2009 the following statement on the protection of Sunday:

From 11-15 March the Church and Society Commission of the Conference of European Churches is meeting at Nyborg (Denmark). The meeting takes place at a moment when the European Parliament and the EU Member States are negotiating a new EU working time directive.

With regard to the ongoing debate on Sunday protection in the Member States of the European Union, the Church and Society Commission of the Conference of European Churches calls on the Member States of the European Union and the EU institutions to protect Sunday as a weekly rest day in forthcoming national and EU working-time legislation – in order to enhance both the protection of workers’ health and also the reconciliation of work and family life.

Scientific research shows that Sunday is more closely connected with the health of workers than any other day of the week. A recent survey of Eurofound, the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (a European Union body), showed that the likelihood of sickness and absenteeism in establishments that work on Saturdays and Sundays is 1.3 times greater than in establishments that do not require staff to work at the weekend.

According to EU law, Sunday is protected as a weekly rest day for children and adolescents. Therefore, more than any other day of the week, a free Sunday offers the opportunity to be with one’s family and friends. Thus a free Sunday serves the aim of reconciling work and social life. Common free time is an important precondition for a participatory society, which allows its members to engage in civil activities.

(Conference of European Churches – Press Release 16 March 2009)

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The Conference of European Churches (CEC) is a fellowship of some 120 Orthodox, Protestant, Anglican and Old Catholic Churches from all countries of Europe, plus 40 associated organisations. CEC was founded in 1959. It has offices in Geneva, Brussels and Strasbourg.

The Church and Society Commission of CEC links member churches and associated organisations of CEC with the European Union’s institutions, the Council of Europe, the OSCE, NATO and the UN (on European matters). Its task is to help the churches study church and society questions from a theological and social-ethical perspective, especially those with a European dimension, and to represent common positions of the member churches in their relations with political institutions working in Europe.

For more information:
Church and Society Commission of CEC
Phone +32 2 230 17 32
Fax +32 2 231 14 13
e-mail: csc@cec-kek.be
website: www.cec-kek.org