I still can not fathom why tourist deserve more rights than people who live here. Wake up -- allow people to shop when they want and need to -- we are not children. If shops do not want to be open, that is their right. I will shop with my wallet, not by what a bunch of religious nutters want. That is why I try to buy everything I can on-line and not in this country. I do not want to subisidise such a customer unfriendly environment.

By Quest | June 25, 2010 8:17 PM

Why do we restrict shopping on Sun? What is wrong to have shopping on Sun? We can let the shop owners to decide. I come from a country which have almost 365days of shopping. Thus having a Sun without shops can be a bit unbearable.

By Yvonne | June 25, 2010 10:05 PM

This is the ongoing, unholy alliance between the labour movement and the religious movements, mainly the catholic church. It is such an old fasioned way of protecting the welfare of workers, and is certainly not the kind of regulation we need when we're trying to crawl out of a recession.

By Nils | June 26, 2010 9:24 AM

Open shops on a sunday so woman can hang around the shops instead of taking their kids to the parks etc.Their is enough financial pressures on families already.And families will suffer as one or both parents will have to work that day.If you can not get your shopping done in the hours available at present you need some serious counseling. Have a great shopping day

By kees | June 26, 2010 10:42 AM

It's because this is a step closer to controlling who people choose to serve. The govt is under pressure from Rome to bring back Sunday worship universally. This debate is not just happening in Nederland, but all over the world, just quiety. The empire wants to rise again, this time they are not putting a solely religious face to it- they want to control all aspects of our lives to get us to bow- when we can shop, when we can worship etc. I will not bow.

By awake | June 26, 2010 1:33 PM

When sunday shopping began in the UK I was a bit against it, not for religous reasons but because I felt workers would be forced to work. It has probably had a positive effect though as it gives more people work. Also I am a coach driver and I have to work whichever days necessary so why should shop staff have that luxury?

By Barry Critchley | June 26, 2010 5:58 PM

I think both shopping and working should be forbidden on Sunday to pacify the Christians, forbidden on Saturday to pacify the Jews, forbidden on Friday to pacify the Muslims and limited to afternoons only during the rest of the week to pacify my wife, who has difficulty getting out of bed in the morning..

By Vogon Poet | June 27, 2010 4:49 PM

Forcing shops closed on Sunday is one example of forcing one person's religion on others.
If Sunday is YOUR rest day, then YOU should not work or shop on Sunday.
Keep your religion to yourself!

By Darren | June 28, 2010 7:26 AM

I agree totally. If one doesn't wish to work or shop on Sunday, that is his or her right. But don't impose your preferences on everyone else.

By CW | June 28, 2010 10:50 AM

Actually Netherlands is like an unbelievable exemption in the region. Not to mention Koopzondag, which seems like a phenomena compared to Belgium, Germanyu, and France around here. Food stores more and more opening almost full day on Sunday. and they are packed full! I dont believe any thinking and planning political force will stand against all those crowds that actually shop on Sunday.

By ugly kid floyd | June 28, 2010 11:29 AM

kees, I don't have children. My husband and I work full-time (and his hours are 10:30-8 or 9 at night and he is the driver in the family) and commute for our jobs. I shouldn't have to run around within the limited hours to get my errands done fighting with the ridiculous crowds.

Not everyone has the same 1950s lifestyle, I hate to tell you.

And if university funding gets cut further and tuition fees rise higher, the kids will need that extra day to earn money. Nobody should be forced to work Sunday, but I shouldn't be forced to conform to a Christian lifestyle either.

By CW | June 28, 2010 1:30 PM

I also disagree with kees. My wife and I find it very difficult to shop here. I do not think we need "more counselling", just more understanding from politicians that our lives are not organized like theirs. (No one does our shopping for us!)

The fact that kees refers to "women" [hanging] around the shops instead of taking their kids to the parks" suggests that it is understood that women do the shopping and childcare. This is not true. In order to maintain middle-class existence, both my wife and I work full-time. So who does the shopping? Neither of us can during the week, so I usually go to the shops on Saturday. Every once and a while I have to miss Saturday shopping, so we miss shopping for the entire week.

I also disagee that Sunday shopping will create more financial pressures. I do not want Sunday shopping so that I can buy more things; I just want to buy the same amount of things but at different times.

I disagree that families suffer. First, almost all of the workers on Sunday are college students. Second, many families already have parents working Sundays, e.g. hospitals, police, etc. Are they "suffering"? As long as a person does not have to work more than 35-40 hours per week, then they have plenty of time to spend with family.

I can add that longer shopping hours provide more jobs, especially for students and lower-income people. I have seen many students who need a part-time job on the side on the weekend who cannot find one, so they drop out of school due to lack of funds. Sunday shopping jobs would help them to pursue education. (I work in education)

It is not all nice having Sunday shopping, but on balance, there are more positives than negatives.

By Matt | June 28, 2010 4:10 PM

Stop the required registration of religion on a newborn's birth certificate at the Gemeentehuis, and then these religious groups can't keep stating that they are representing the majority of the population. Presently they say Christian is the majority, so Sunday should be closed, when the Muslims reach parity they will they add Friday to the list? What day do the Buddhists, Seikhs, Jews, Jedi Warrior's, Born Again Aetheists etc. have off? We may manage to ban shopping every day of the week, with a bit of careful registration :)

By jaycee | June 28, 2010 8:14 PM

I come from a country where you can shop 24hrs a day, 365 days a year. I was shocked when I came here and found out that most everything closes at 6, and nothing is open on Sunday. People should be free to choose, when and where they shop or work for that matter. I don't need the government to make decisions for me. Quite frankly, they don't have my best interest in mind!

By Tony | June 28, 2010 8:51 PM

I lived in Italy for years and nearly no shops are open Sunday.I come from New York,and was no problem to adjust to Rome.Sunday has traditionally been a more peacful day,for religious reasons or not.

By cvb | June 28, 2010 10:30 PM

This article is just another example of domination, and the church in cahoots with our lovely guv is the main culprit here.

The sheer stupidity of antiquated laws like this one leave me almost speechless considering the economical state of affairs!

I live directly opposite a largish shopping-mall. I could not give one iota if they are open 24/7. I would however like to see the religious aspect on Sunday shopping abolished, and for good!!!

By stevie | June 28, 2010 10:50 PM

I lived in Holland for ten years and loved that I didn't feel an obligation to shop on the weekends. I had to think ahead, but that was just a lesson in re-arranging my life, not a major blow. How nice to have everything in order by 5PM on a Saturday,rest on Sunday and then start the meal planning again on Monday. Ah, but that is me, and I am retired. Poor people who work...I feel that their needs are not being met by legislative ideas; legislators have wives or those who plan ahead for them, Im sure. The old joke from women" I wish I had a wife" is so true in some homes. Give the women a break, let them shop or not on weekends; let those who don't want or need to, do other things with their time. Ah, the battle goes on.

By Barbara | June 29, 2010 1:11 AM

I came from far east, multiracial, multi religion where islam is the national religion, shops are are open 365 days in a year, most shops open till 10 p.m and hypermarkets are everywhere i.e. tesco, carrefour, giants 24 hrs as well.

By Sherry | June 29, 2010 8:29 AM

Not only are shops not open on Sundays in many Dutch locations, but many are not open on Mondays as well.

So far as I can see, this antiquated system dates back to the time when most women did not work and could shop during the week days.

The system does not work anymore (if it ever did). I agree that shops should be free to open whenever they wish, as appears to be the case in most of the rest of the world.

By Kevin Jardine | June 29, 2010 10:52 AM