Poland to phase out Sunday shopping by 2020

(FILES) This file photo taken on August 29, 2016 shows Russian shoppers carrying bags at a supermarket in Braniewo, a town near Poland's border with the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad. Poland adopted legislation on November 24, 2017 that will ban most Sunday trading by 2020, with opinion surveys showing that consumers have mixed feelings about the move in the heavily Catholic EU state. / AFP PHOTO / DAMIEN SIMONARTDAMIEN SIMONART/AFP/Getty Images less (FILES) This file photo taken on August 29, 2016 shows Russian shoppers carrying bags at a supermarket in Braniewo, a town near Poland's border with the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad. Poland adopted ... more Photo: DAMIEN SIMONART, Contributor Photo: DAMIEN SIMONART, Contributor Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Poland to phase out Sunday shopping by 2020 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

WARSAW, Poland - Poland's lawmakers on Friday approved a law that will phase out Sunday shopping by 2020 despite criticism that it may lead to the loss of thousands of jobs.

Proposed by trade unions that want shop and trade workers to spend more time with their families, the bill got support from the ruling party that adheres to Catholic values. Critics say it would hurt Poland's economy, eliminating tens of thousands of jobs, and hurt supermarket chains, which are mostly Western.

The lower house, dominated by the ruling party, voted 254 -156 with 23 abstentions to limit Sunday shopping to the first and last Sunday of the month from March 1 until the end of 2018; only on the last Sunday in the month in 2019; and to ban it totally starting in 2020. There will, however, be some exceptions that will allow Sunday shopping before major holidays like Christmas and Easter, and on the last Sunday in January, April, June and August. Also, online shops and bakeries are to be exempted.

The bill still needs approval from the Senate and from President Andrzej Duda.

Poland's influential Roman Catholic bishops said in a statement they were not fully satisfied and insisted that all Sundays should be free from work for everyone.

In Hungary, Prime Minister Viktor Orban's government banned Sunday shopping in 2015 but lifted the prohibition after 13 months because it was highly unpopular with voters.