Benefits December 23, 2003

Decking the Halls – Within Limits

December 23, 2003 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Even Christmas carols can get to be too much of a good thing.
Reported by

A little fa-la-la-la-la-la is fine, say employees at some stores in the Czech Republic, but things get a bit much when retailers play holiday music continually – and at full blast, the Associated Press reported. That’s why Czech unions have demanded an end to the practice and compensation for workers driven around the Christmas bend by the non-stop cheer.

Union leaders suggest two days away from all the hubbub – or $19. “To listen to it for eight hours a day is not healthy, that’s for sure,” said Alexandr Leiner, a union leader. “And for the customers, it’s almost unbearable as well.”

Unions in neighboring Austria have lodged similar complaints against stores there, the AP said.

Tesco spokesman Vesselin Barliev said his company has not received any complaints. “We don’t see the music as a problem,” he said.

«