KEY POINTS:
The union which represents retail workers is angry that some stores are again flouting Easter trading laws.
Among those which opened illegally today were 13 Bunning's Warehouses, said National Distribution union national secretary Laile Harre.
The hardware chain did not have an exemption to be open and had
been fined in the past following complaints from union members, she said.
Bunning's Warehouse security guard Glen Vickery, who is spending time with his two children in Coromandel, today called on Bunning's to follow the law.
"You don't have many days in the year when families can get together," he said.
"Easter should remain a holiday that everyone can enjoy, including Bunning's workers."
Ms Harre said that Bunning's and other retail companies were "taking the law into their own hands" and taking workers away from their families for commercial gain.
"If one of our retail workers decided to take a day off with their family on a normal trading day, Bunnings or any other company would bring the whole force of the law to discipline and even fire the worker.
"But here we have a corporate citizen quite blatantly breaking the law and facing a paltry $1000 fine per breach. If we're serious about saving Easter, the fine should be much higher."
Ms Harre said that many New Zealanders did not realise that Easter Sunday was not protected under the Holidays Act, meaning staff were not automatically entitled to time and a half and an alternative holiday (day in lieu).
The union has joined forces with a number of church groups and other unions under the Council of Trade Unions to oppose two bills currently before parliament aiming at liberalising Easter trading.
Bunning's Warehouse general manager Brad Cranston told Radio New Zealand that 13 of the chain's stores were entitled to open because they contained garden centres, which he believed were exempt from the trading laws.
However, Mr Vickery said staff were rostered to work and not asked if they wanted to.
They felt obliged to work because if they did not, the pressure would go on other staff to do so.
On Good Friday, Department of Labour inspectors visited a number of retailers, mostly garden centres, which opened for business in defiance of trading laws.
Nationally, 25 retailers were visited. Of these, 19 were trading illegally.
The Shop Trading Hours Repeal Act 1990 allows only certain shops which provide essential supplies to open on Good Friday and Easter Sunday.
These include shops providing food ready to eat, souvenir and duty-free shops, pharmacies and shops in premises where there are bona fide shows or exhibitions.
Restrictions also apply on Christmas Day and half of Anzac Day.
- NZPA
