CTU MEDIA RELEASE
21 March 2008

Easter Trading: 3 ½ Days Off Not Onerous

The Council of Trade Unions is calling on retailers to respect the trading restrictions in place over Easter, saying they are not an onerous requirement.

"We are calling on retailers to comply with the shop trading hours legislation which requires no trading on Good Friday and Easter Sunday for most retailers," CTU secretary Carol Beaumont said.

"The current Easter Sunday trading restrictions ensure that retail workers have at least some ability to participate in the huge range of family, community and religious activities that take place around New Zealand over Easter."

"In 1990 most shops could not trade on any Sunday and they were unable to open on nine of the 11 recognised public holidays. Now they can trade on 51 out of 52 Sundays and every public holiday except Good Friday, Christmas Day and the morning of Anzac Day.

"There needs to be some community days when shop employees can join other workers for a holiday, and the 3 and a half days a year where shops cannot trade is a pretty small restriction on retailers," Carol Beaumont said.

Ends.

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