In spring 2003, the opening of major retailers (Coop and Migros) at the Crissier shopping centre on a Whit Monday exposed a loophole: neither Vaud law nor most municipal regulations counted that day among official public holidays. Shop staff, meanwhile, were working.
In response, trade unions and left-wing parties launched a cantonal popular initiative to formally enshrine 2 January and Whit Monday as paid public holidays in the canton. For the initiators, it meant granting « two extra Sundays » and protecting the quality of life of retail employees.
On 17 June 2007, Vaud voters decided. The right and business circles feared lost revenue and a shift of shopping toward Fribourg or Geneva; the left emphasised rest and family life. The ballot verdict would be emphatic.
Overall result Yes 74.1 % — No 25.9 % Turnout : 44.96 % | Scope Cantonal initiative accepted. Since 1 January 2008, 2 January and Whit Monday have been official, paid public holidays in the canton of Vaud. |
Actors and figures
▲ Yes camp • Trade unions (UNIA, SSP/VPOD, SUD) — protecting retail staff • Socialist Party of Vaud and Vaud Greens • PoP and employee associations | ▼ No camp • Right-wing parties (Radicals, Liberals, SVP) • Business circles and retail trade associations • Centre Patronal — favouring a solution via the social partners |
Arguments and verdicts
▲ Arguments FOR (Yes camp) Protecting retail staff « Without holidays written into law, nothing stops shops from opening and making their staff work on Whit Monday or 2 January. » Verdict : ✓ Confirmed Since the 2008 entry into force, both days are public holidays in the canton; shops close. The loophole exposed at Crissier was permanently closed. Source : Canton of Vaud (vd.ch), RTS Two extra, lasting days of rest « Giving the whole population two more Sundays, without depending on the goodwill of individual sectors. » Verdict : ✓ Confirmed 2 January and Whit Monday still figure, in 2026, among Vaud’s public holidays. The promise was kept and never challenged. Source : Canton of Vaud, cantonal holidays | ▼ Arguments AGAINST (No camp) A matter for the social partners « Public holidays should be settled by negotiation between employers and unions, not by a law imposed by the people. » Verdict : ✗~ Largely disproven The electorate decided directly and durably. The legal scheme proved simple to apply and did not generate the feared social conflict. Source : Le Temps, 24 heures Lost revenue and shopping tourism « Closing Vaud shops those days means losing two days of revenue and pushing customers toward Geneva or Fribourg. » Verdict : ✗~ Not demonstrated No study has established any measurable commercial exodus tied to these two holidays. The feared mass shift of purchases out of the canton has not been documented since 2008. Source : 24 heures, RTS |
Factual assessment
2 / 2 Yes promises kept | 2008 Entry into force | 2026 Still in force | 0 Documented No fears |
The Yes camp’s two central promises — closing the legal loophole and guaranteeing two extra days of rest — were implemented in 2008 and still hold in 2026. The opponents’ economic fears (lost revenue, shopping tourism) are backed by no public data.
The 2007 initiative belongs to the rare category of social measures whose effects are both visible and uncontested. By writing two holidays into law, the canton settled a question the social partners had failed to resolve.
Nearly twenty years on, the scheme has faced no repeal attempt. The economic arguments raised against the initiative — lost revenue, customer flight — were never backed by figures.
The emphatic score (74.1%) confirms that protecting retail staff’s free time then commanded broad consensus, beyond the left-right divide claimed by party leaderships.