The European Sunday Alliance calls on political leaders to establish a European weekly common day of rest. “It strengthens the social cohesion of our communities, and it is indispensable to recover and to ensure both a better wellbeing and productivity of workers”, says the Alliance in a statement released on Wednesday 3 March 2022. Download the Statement
On the occasion of the International Day for a Work-Free Sunday, the European Sunday Alliances (ESA) urges the EU political leaders to put as a priority the establishment of a European weekly common day of rest for workers – by tradition on Sunday – as enshrined in Art. 2 of the European Social Charter.
“A full day of rest per week is indispensable to recover and to ensure both a better wellbeing and a better productivity of workers [and] it strengthens the social cohesion of our community”, reads the ESA statement.
Fr. Manuel Barrios Prieto, General Secretary of COMECE, explains that a synchronized common day of rest “enables people to spend time with their family and friends, to care for others, especially the most vulnerable, to play together with their children and friends, to enjoy contact with nature and to nourish their cultural and spiritual life and pursue other interests and hobbies”.
“Moreover – he continues – with the COVID-19 pandemic, the increasingly blurring of work-life balance, and the accelerating of an ‘always-on culture’, it is essential more than ever to have a clear and common day of rest”.
In the run-up to the International Day for a work-free Sunday, the Alliance carried out a social media, raising awareness about the unique value of Sunday for our society and on the importance of a common day of rest.
COMECE is a founder member of the European Sunday Alliance. The Alliance is a broad network of more than 100 national Sunday alliances, trade unions, employers’ organisations, civil society associations, Churches and religious communities in the European Union. The Alliance is committed to raise awareness about the unique value of Sunday for our society and on the importance of a common day of rest.
