Trading Hours Blow Out
Go Back- 5th November 2014
Approximately a week and a half ago, I became aware of a proposal from the WA Chamber of Commerce and Industry, made to the WA Government, to radically amend trading hours for general retail shops (such as Coles, Woolworths, Target, Best and Less etc) in the months of December 2014 and January 2015. I immediately sent urgent correspondence to the responsible Minister, Michael Mischin, seeking a meeting to present the SDA concerns regarding these proposed changes. The Minister declined to meet with me but did send assurances, via his Principal Policy Advisor, that the CCI proposal would not be accepted.Following this assurance, the WA Government has now announced the trading hours for the month of December. As in previous years, the Government has provided additional hours of trading for general retail shops in the weeks leading up to Christmas and in the Christmas – New Year period. The extensions granted by the Government mean that, from the 5th of December through to the 31st of December, general retail shops can open between 7am and 9pm Monday to Friday, from 7am to 6pm on Saturdays and from 8am to 6pm on Sundays and Public Holidays.
These extensions are nowhere near as radical as those proposed by the CCI. However, they do raise some concerns, coming as they do without any consultation with the relevant stakeholders such as small retailers and, most importantly from our perspective, the SDA.
For example, the requirement to have shops open and trading from 7am during the week will inevitably lead to very early starts for members, creating possible problems with childcare arrangements, dropping children at school and availability of public transport. Earlier starts on Sunday may impact on members’ ability to attend children’s sporting events and take part in religious services. The reduced availability of public transport on Sundays may also create difficulties for those members who rely on such transport to get to work.
Although the trading hours for December 2014 are now locked in, I am concerned that these increases will form part of a gradual creep of additional hours, particularly given the vigour displayed by groups such as the CCI in their pursuit of total deregulation of trading hours. As such, it is my intention to formally write to the Minister, registering the SDA’s position with respect to further changes to retail trading hours.
To assist me in presenting your views to the Minister, I am asking you to participate in a short anonymous survey, which will better inform me about members’ views on trading hours extensions. The survey should only take a few minutes to complete but your input will be, in my view, invaluable in helping me to send a message to the Government.
To complete the survey please click the link below.
Thank you for your support and assistance. If you have any queries about the SDA’s position on extensions to trading hours, please feel free to contact me on 9221 4321.
Peter O’Keeffe
SDA WA BRANCH SECRETARY
