Two Migros stores in Zurich remain closed on Sundays

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• Two Migros stores in Zurich and Winterthur will remain closed on Sundays until the Federal Supreme Court rules on the permissibility of Sunday working.
• The Federal Supreme Court has rejected urgent applications by the operators and emphasized that economic losses do not justify a suspensive effect.
• The dispute revolves around exemptions for stores near railroad stations.

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Two Migros stores near Zurich and Winterthur railroad stations will remain closed until the Federal Supreme Court has ruled on the permissibility of Sunday working in these stores. The court has rejected the store operators' requests for suspensive effect. Unia had taken action against the opening on Sundays.

The dispute concerns a Migros Daily branch on Zollstrasse, not far from Zurich's main railway station, and a Migrolino gooods store on Bahnhofplatz in Winterthur. Sunday operations were approved by the Office of Economy and Labor of the Canton of Zurich (AWA) and banned by the Administrative Court of the Canton of Zurich at the end of March 2025 following an appeal by the Unia trade union.

In two interim rulings published on Thursday, the Federal Supreme Court rejected the applications by the Migros Cooperative Zurich and Migrolino for suspensive effect. It stated that purely economic damage does not justify postponing the application of a court ruling until the Federal Supreme Court has ruled.

Exceptions in the vicinity of railroad stations

The AWA had ruled that these were businesses for travelers that had a sales area of less than 200 square meters and were therefore also allowed to open on Sundays - i.e. employ workers on Sundays. An appeal lodged by the Unia trade union against this decision was rejected by the Canton of Zurich's Department of Economic Affairs in a ruling dated October 9, 2023.

The federal law provides for several exceptions to the ban on Sunday opening, in particular for sales outlets located in the vicinity of train stations and airports. These stores must provide an offer that primarily meets the needs of travelers.