The retail trading hours debate

[monotonehell]

--Split from New Retail in the CBD--

You do not have to work public holidays if you don't want to. It was similar to when Sunday trading came in. Staff who didn't want to never had to work the Sunday. They would also avoid doing so because once you did a Sunday shift, you could open the flood gates to being rostered on future Sundays...

What fantasy World are you living in? When Sundays came in you worked when the boss rostered you on. If you didn't your hours would magically dry up. There's not many workplaces where they bend over backwards to constantly reorder the roster for their employees.

[AtD]

What fantasy World are you living in? When Sundays came in you worked when the boss rostered you on. If you didn't your hours would magically dry up. There's not many workplaces where they bend over backwards to constantly reorder the roster for their employees.

I can honestly say I've never worked in a place like that. Everywhere I've ever worked has been so desperate for decent staff that they have bent over backwards to rearrange the roster. Staff turnover can kill a small business - it's an expensive exercise as good staff are too hard to find. It costs money to retrench, it costs money to recruit and it costs a hell of a lot of money to train. It's not worth it just for being petty over rosters. (But its a good way to sack people they already don't like)

That being said, I'd honestly be surprised if this members bill actually succeeds. I can't see the ALP backing it.

[pushbutton]

I was working in retail when Sunday trading first came in, and we were told that Sundays were voluntary (you would never be rostered unless you "opted in" by saying you wanted to work Sundays) and if we did work on a Sunday we would be paid double time.

Gradually over the years these protections have been worn away for most retail workers. These days most of them are expected to work Sundays if they are rostered just like any other day, and most are still paid penalty rates but it's more likely to be time and a half than double time.

I would not be at all surprised if in a 10 years from now retail staff are paid normal rates on Sundays, and trading hours on Sundays are like any other day of the week rather than 11-5 as now.

That's how it seems to work. It starts off with extra trading hours on a limited basis with various protections built in for workers (the SDA would usually have campaigned hard for these) then little by little over the years these protections are eroded away.

The same could potentially happen with public holidays.

[Omicron]

These days, who gets a retail job and expects to have their weekends free? That's when all the money comes in and the most hands are needed, so it seems entirely logical to me (and fair) that people would be more likely to be rostered on a Sunday than on a Tuesday morning, for example. The last thing a 7-day trade retail employer wants is a whole lot of Monday to Friday employees with a 'how dare you ask me to work evenings or weekends to perform work that is outside the explicit details of my job description!' attitude, like far too many existing staff members. That could just be my bitter self talking again, of course.

[Nort]

I currently work in retail in one of the "special" categories that are allowed to open later and on public holidays/weekends and those days are rostered like any other and only get paid about 20% more beyond standard days.

I'm not gonna complain because it was all in the contract when I signed on, but within a few years I would expect these conditions to sadly be the norm.

[ghs]

Double time on sundays for me and I work just about every sunday !!!$$$$

[crawf]

It's a AdelaideNow style article, but nerveless it's still embarrassing

Call for Adelaide sales start to catch up
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/busines ... 5977468825

South Australian shoppers had to wait until yesterday to experience the post-Christmas department store sales that other major cities have enjoyed since Sunday.

The Rann government has come under fire for its decision to restrict holiday trading, saying the policy balances the rights of workers with retail demand.

Business SA chief Peter Vaughan described the decision as "madness", saying it betrayed the government's push to market the state as "open for business".

"It's about time South Australia joined the rest of Australia and stopped this nonsense, head-in-the-sand approach," Mr Vaughan said yesterday.

"Tasmania's got 24/7 shopping, and even Western Australia went against all of its previous history and was determined to join the real world to get into Sunday trading on Boxing Day. But here in South Australia, we hold the tide back because we must be aliens from another planet."

But Industrial Relations Minister Paul Holloway said that for the first time retailers could now trade on a public holiday.

"We'll analyse the results of that and for the whole Christmas and New Year period," he said.

Edward Burcham, the manager of Adelaide City Myer, said he wanted to open on Sunday.

"South Australia's always been a little bit different," he said.

He said Myer staff were given a choice to work on yesterday's public holiday, and few turned down the chance of extra cash.

Claire Wilde, a 33-year-old accountant, was one of the early shoppers in Adelaide's Rundle Mall. By mid-afternoon her infant's stroller was full of bags.

"We've done the Boxing Day sales in Sydney before, so it would be good if Adelaide could do the same," Ms Wilde said.

Another shopper, 15-year-old Belinda Monaghan, said she felt jealous when she saw footage of interstate shoppers buying up big on Boxing Day.

"I wanted to go to the sales yesterday," Belinda said.

Trading hours from a Mt Gambier shopping centre
http://www.centromountgambier.com.au/wh ... ?ciid=1529

Public holiday trading (except Good Friday, Anzac Day morning & Christmas Day) is also allowed in Glenelg/Harbourtown, Mt Barker, Victor Harbor, Murray Bridge, Kadina, Clare, Naracourte, Renmark, Berri, Port Augusta, Port Lincoln, Whyalla, Port Pirie, Roxby Downs, Broken Hill, Mildura etc etc... Adelaide however is closed for business

This current Christmas period just shows how ridiculous and embarrassing these trading hours are, 5 days of closure is just pure madness. And to make things worse Easter is going to be the same with again 5 days of closure.

Please please can common sense prevail before March so the Adelaide CBD can be classified as a tourist precinct, so we don't have to continually go through this every single public holiday. It is just beyond embarrassing and as I've said so many times since moving to Adelaide 6 years ago, I still do not understand the strange trading hours here.

[Vee]

This current Christmas period just shows how ridiculous and embarrassing these trading hours are, 5 days of closure is just pure madness. And to make things worse Easter is going to be the same with again 5 days of closure.

Please please can common sense prevail before March so the Adelaide CBD can be classified as a tourist precinct, so we don't have to continually go through this every single public holiday. It is just beyond embarrassing and as I've said so many times since moving to Adelaide 6 years ago, I still do not understand the strange trading hours here.

Agree!
Adelaide CBD should not be a dead heart during public holiday periods. Empty, soul-less streets, closed shops, cafes and other facilities present a very poor image of our city to visitors and deprives residents of an option that is readily available in other major cities.

The excuse given by the government to keep shops closed is pathetic! The economic loss is a major blow to traders and the thousands of casuals, including Uni students and part-timers, who would love the extra work (with the added benefit of the extra dollars circulating in the community). We should be reaping the extra dollars from increased tourism, stemming the losses from the exodus of locals who prefer to go elsewhere and certainly not provide fuel for a 'backwater' tag.

Adelaide cannot afford to have such archaic regulations which do not fit the image of a modern, attractive and vibrant city. Politicians must listen.
Please fix it before Easter.

[monotonehell]

MEH

Spend some time with your family and friends. It's f*ing Christmas!

We are not born to shop. Think about it.

[Nathan]

MEH

Spend some time with your family and friends. It's f*ing Christmas!

We are not born to shop. Think about it.

If the shops are open, you're still perfectly free to ignore them and spend that time with family and friends. I don't believe we're free to tell others how to spend their time though.

[rev]

Well if people had to go back to work on Monday and Tuesday instead of having the Christmas and Boxing Day public holidays, they'd be bitching about that.
If the government went with that, and people had to work, unions would be up in arms and people would be having a whine that they deserve a break and this and that.
The government is in a damned if you do, damned if you don't situation.

And does it really matter what is happening elsewhere? What is the persistent need with people in Adelaide to compare what happens elsewhere with what's happening in Adelaide? If you love life in other cities so much, pack your bags already and go? What's stopping all the whiners? I really don't give a sh** when sales start in other cities. If I wanted to attend sales like a robot or act like I've never seen a sale, I'd fly over to Melbourne for a day or two. I actually know people who wait till the sales this time of year to buy things they need, that's how freaking stupid people have become. ZOMG sales are on, so what do people do? They all rush to the nearest shopping center like zombies and robots to line up and rush inside. Because like you know, the shops are going to run out of stock, and when they do, they will never ever, ever ever ever, re order new stock.

We just had a four day weekend basically. If it was at any other time people would be loving it.
When Rundle Mall was open till midnight before Christmas, it was DEAD. I went twice, and most small-medium shops either closed early or didn't bother opening up because they knew it wouldn't be worth it for them.

Jeez, you'd think people whether they are Christian or not would appreciate an extra couple of days off work to allow them to relax, unwind, catch up with family and friends.

[AtD]

If you don't like it then stay home. Meanwhile Bourke Street Mall was PACKED on Sunday and the cash was flowing freely. Fun times were had.

[Nathan]

When Rundle Mall was open till midnight before Christmas, it was DEAD. I went twice, and most small-medium shops either closed early or didn't bother opening up because they knew it wouldn't be worth it for them.

And that was highly annoying. We went late one night before christmas to do the rest of our present shopping, and had to go back again the next day because the shops we wanted to buy things from, weren't open. Not to mention the food courts only had one or two shops open each - even though there were plenty of people wandering around looking for food. And I hardly would call it dead. Granted we went in at about 8pm, so it was probably quieter closer to midnight, but still.

[cruel_world00]

Honestly, don't retail workers deserve to enjoy public holidays too??

If you go to Europe, there are Rundle Mall type places that close every Sunday, or are closed due to some religious based holiday (including all super market types as well).

It's not embarrassing.

I'm pro-moving Adelaide with the times, but when I enjoyed my 5 day weekend this year and went for a ride to the beach it was nice to see all the families out and about in the parks, on the beach, enjoying their break.

I think people can cope with the shops being closed for a couple of days, heaven forbid you have to stock up on CANS!

[Aidan]

We are not born to shop. Think about it.

But we are born to eat. So when in the suburbs we can't even buy bread for three days in a row because the shops are shut, it should be obvious that something is wrong.

There was no justification for everything to be closed on Monday. It wasn't Christmas Day, it wasn't Boxing Day and it wasn't Proclamation Day.

And in the City and Glenelg, there's really no justification for having any restrictions at all. Likewise Port Adelaide.