Retailers not serious about Easter trading vote

Retailers are not serious about tomorrow night’s vote on Easter trading, after a hastily conducted lobbying effort got basic details about MPs wrong, and is itself contradictory, the union for retail workers says.

This morning a hurriedly compiled bulk lobbying email was sent by the Retailers Association to Members of Parliament. This followed an individualised briefing sent to all MPs yesterday by the National Distribution Union.

But many basic details in the bulk email were wrong, said Robert Reid, General Secretary of the NDU.

“To get basic facts about members of Parliament wrong, such as muddling the first names and last names of National MP Hekia Parata and Green MP Kennedy Graham, misspelling the names of Tariana Turia and 8 other MPs and misspelling “Parliament” and “Govt” in the email addresses, tells us that the Retailers Association did a rush job,” Robert Reid said.

“The lobby email is also contradictory.”

“One paragraph says that Wanaka has a unique issue with its air show being held over Easter. Yet the next paragraph says they are in ‘favour of a national policy which is consistently applied throughout New Zealand as far as Easter Sunday trading is concerned’.”

The Retailers Association are not taking this Bill seriously, Robert Reid said.

“It is a very serious matter for retail workers though. There are only 3 and ½ shopping-free-days each year when shop and retail distribution workers know that they will not be under any pressure to work.”

“Tomorrow night, we are calling on MPs to put families and communities before commerce, and stop the Jacqui Dean Easter Trading bill from going any further,” Robert Reid said.

ENDS

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