Shop Til They Drop
Want to buy this 'wheel' thing I've just invented, Dear Reader?
There has been talk in parliament of further loosening the Sunday Trading laws*. At present shops are allowed to open on Sundays for six hours, usually 10am to 4pm or 11am to 5pm, except on Easter Sunday. Some local shops do. Big supermarkets, DIY stores, Garden Centres, etc take full advantage of this.
H and I were part of the Keep Sunday Special campaign back in the early 1980s. That was when nearly all shops had to shut on Sundays, by law. "Outdated!" Cried the opponents. "Victorian!**" "Restrictive!" "Greater Freedom of Choice!" "It'll make things easier for families!" "It will put more money into the economy (read 'our pockets')" "Think of all the jobs it will create!" etc, etc. Perhaps more to the point, Big Business was in favour of relaxing the law, if not actually repealing it.
What the pro-Sunday Traders didn't explain was quite how the extra profit would accrue. There are is a fixed number of shoppers (ok, so that's increasing as the population increases but you know what I mean, I hope.) What was then being sold over six days would simply be stretched to being sold over seven. Plus there would be added costs for the extra day's worth of 'Overheads' - electricity for lighting and heating/cooling, as well as another day's worth of wages. That's why only the large shops open now.
Another thing, back in the 'old days' if someone worked on a Sunday they'd get paid double time. Some shop workers (and would-be shop workers) were caught up with the idea that if Sunday Trading was allowed then they'd be able to earn twice the wages. Hah! As if businesses would be so profligate with their money. I don't know what the going rate is for shopworkers these days, but I bet it's not more than the time-and-a-half they pay you for working Saturday afternoons - if you already work Monday to Friday.
What hasn't been mentioned is that many, if not most, shop workers are part-timers and, usually, women. They are engaged to work a certain number of hours per week and are paid a given rate per hour - whether that hour worked is on a week day, Saturday or even Sunday. And that's before we get to the iniquitous 'Zero Hour' contracts - where contractees get told on the day if/when they are needed and for how long. No time-and-a-half or double-time for them. Furthermore, many of the Sunday shopworkers are young people - those still at school looking for some money for themselves, students hoping to make their Student Loans go further. Young people (under 21s) get paid less than older people - by law.
So the Sunday Trading laws were amended to allow shops to open for six hours on a Sunday if they wanted to. And the big supermarkets and superstores, which wanted to all along, promptly did so. They'd be open 24/7 if they thought it would be profitable, with workers on either part-time or zero hours contracts - neither of which make much provision for time off for the workers. And time off, leisure time, is important - for families to and friends to get together, to refresh and 'renew' people.
If the Sunday Trading laws are amended again, to increase opening hours or whatever, I can see a lot of smaller shops going out of business. They won't be able to compete against the big chains. So employment opportunities will actually be fewer, rather than greater. But the present government is Conservative led. They're in favour of Big Business, for all they may bang on about the importance of small businesses, small businesspeople and those near the bottom of the heap (see recent comments on this weeks Budget). No, if it's good for Business it'll be good for the country!
"Some researchers have argued that instead of offering employees a couple of long vacations every year, they should start providing employees with the option of taking a vacation every single week. A Harvard Business School study tracked employees for four years at a consulting group. Every year, the bosses insisted the employees take consistent time off. Those who took the time off committed to taking a break from work one day of the workweek, usually consisting of one full day off or a one night of uninterrupted personal time. After only five months, those who took the regular breaks from work reported being happier with their jobs and much prouder of the work they did at their job." Huffington Post
For that matter, when I was at university I was told that studies had shown that students who took one day per week off from their studies achieved better grades and degrees than students who worked all week.
Now where have I heard that one before? Oh yes, "Remember the Sabbath Day, to keep it holy. Work six days and do everything you need to do, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to GOD, your God. On it do no work." Exodus 20:8&9
*To make trade easier, to boost sales, to boost employment . . . See arguments advanced in the early 80s.
**Quite a lot of the legislation brought in by the Victorians covering employment and welfare was actually Very Good and Necessary, despite what modern people appear to think.
There has been talk in parliament of further loosening the Sunday Trading laws*. At present shops are allowed to open on Sundays for six hours, usually 10am to 4pm or 11am to 5pm, except on Easter Sunday. Some local shops do. Big supermarkets, DIY stores, Garden Centres, etc take full advantage of this.
H and I were part of the Keep Sunday Special campaign back in the early 1980s. That was when nearly all shops had to shut on Sundays, by law. "Outdated!" Cried the opponents. "Victorian!**" "Restrictive!" "Greater Freedom of Choice!" "It'll make things easier for families!" "It will put more money into the economy (read 'our pockets')" "Think of all the jobs it will create!" etc, etc. Perhaps more to the point, Big Business was in favour of relaxing the law, if not actually repealing it.
What the pro-Sunday Traders didn't explain was quite how the extra profit would accrue. There are is a fixed number of shoppers (ok, so that's increasing as the population increases but you know what I mean, I hope.) What was then being sold over six days would simply be stretched to being sold over seven. Plus there would be added costs for the extra day's worth of 'Overheads' - electricity for lighting and heating/cooling, as well as another day's worth of wages. That's why only the large shops open now.
Another thing, back in the 'old days' if someone worked on a Sunday they'd get paid double time. Some shop workers (and would-be shop workers) were caught up with the idea that if Sunday Trading was allowed then they'd be able to earn twice the wages. Hah! As if businesses would be so profligate with their money. I don't know what the going rate is for shopworkers these days, but I bet it's not more than the time-and-a-half they pay you for working Saturday afternoons - if you already work Monday to Friday.
What hasn't been mentioned is that many, if not most, shop workers are part-timers and, usually, women. They are engaged to work a certain number of hours per week and are paid a given rate per hour - whether that hour worked is on a week day, Saturday or even Sunday. And that's before we get to the iniquitous 'Zero Hour' contracts - where contractees get told on the day if/when they are needed and for how long. No time-and-a-half or double-time for them. Furthermore, many of the Sunday shopworkers are young people - those still at school looking for some money for themselves, students hoping to make their Student Loans go further. Young people (under 21s) get paid less than older people - by law.
So the Sunday Trading laws were amended to allow shops to open for six hours on a Sunday if they wanted to. And the big supermarkets and superstores, which wanted to all along, promptly did so. They'd be open 24/7 if they thought it would be profitable, with workers on either part-time or zero hours contracts - neither of which make much provision for time off for the workers. And time off, leisure time, is important - for families to and friends to get together, to refresh and 'renew' people.
If the Sunday Trading laws are amended again, to increase opening hours or whatever, I can see a lot of smaller shops going out of business. They won't be able to compete against the big chains. So employment opportunities will actually be fewer, rather than greater. But the present government is Conservative led. They're in favour of Big Business, for all they may bang on about the importance of small businesses, small businesspeople and those near the bottom of the heap (see recent comments on this weeks Budget). No, if it's good for Business it'll be good for the country!
"Some researchers have argued that instead of offering employees a couple of long vacations every year, they should start providing employees with the option of taking a vacation every single week. A Harvard Business School study tracked employees for four years at a consulting group. Every year, the bosses insisted the employees take consistent time off. Those who took the time off committed to taking a break from work one day of the workweek, usually consisting of one full day off or a one night of uninterrupted personal time. After only five months, those who took the regular breaks from work reported being happier with their jobs and much prouder of the work they did at their job." Huffington Post
For that matter, when I was at university I was told that studies had shown that students who took one day per week off from their studies achieved better grades and degrees than students who worked all week.
Now where have I heard that one before? Oh yes, "Remember the Sabbath Day, to keep it holy. Work six days and do everything you need to do, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to GOD, your God. On it do no work." Exodus 20:8&9
*To make trade easier, to boost sales, to boost employment . . . See arguments advanced in the early 80s.
**Quite a lot of the legislation brought in by the Victorians covering employment and welfare was actually Very Good and Necessary, despite what modern people appear to think.