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Scotland 1st Jan shopping ban where is the evidence that it will harm business
24 December 2003
Shopworkers' trade union leader Sir Bill Connor today challenged the Scottish Retail Consortium's claims that a ban on larger stores opening on New Year's Day would cause "irreversible harm".
Sir Bill Connor, Usdaw General Secretary, said that, as no large shops open on New Year's Day in Scotland, a ban could not be detrimental. Usdaw wants a ban introduced to remove the temptation for large stores to open in the future, forcing staff to work against their wishes.
Usdaw is backing a Private Member's Bill in the Scottish Parliament from Karen Whitefield, the Labour MSP for Airdrie and Shotts, which calls for all stores larger than 3,000 square feet to be banned from opening on both Christmas Day and New Year's Day in Scotland.
In a statement, the SRC director Fiona Moriarty says that a ban on New Year's Day trading would have a "hugely negative impact" on tourism and the retail sector in Scotland.
Sir Bill Connor said today: "I'm completely at a loss as to how the SRC reaches its conclusions - they don't match the evidence. Tourists do not come to Scotland to shop on New Year's Day. They can't, because large shops aren't open on 1st January.
"Karen Whitefield's Bill would take away the genuine temptation to open in future years. Usdaw is aware that some of the larger stores are putting serious thought into opening on New Year's Day - and that would be a disaster for Scottish shopworkers. There's no doubt that there would not be enough volunteers to staff these larger stores, so many would be forced to work."
Karen Whitefield added: "New Year's Day holds significant importance in the Scottish calendar. If large shops were to start opening, the special nature of New Year's Day would be lost. There are currently no regulations on shop opening hours in Scotland. Shops could open 365 days a year, 24 hours a day if they wanted to. My Bill will ensure that two days of the year, Christmas Day and New Year's Day, remain special."
Karen Whitefield's Bill is also backed by Scotmid, one of Scotland's biggest employers. It has secured more than double the number of MSPs required to take it to the next stage of the legislative process in Scotland - public consultation. This will take place early next year.
Usdaw is the UK's fifth largest trade union, with over 332,000 members, including over 36,000 in Scotland.
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