Dear Sir,
In response to your comment in Viewpoint on Thursday, 30 July.
Sadly, I felt in total agreement with your comments on Sunday opening.
I say sadly, because in the UK I was a keen supporter of what was called the "Keep Sunday Special" campaign.
"We" firmly believed there was no call for supermarkets and DIY shops etc. to open
seven days a week. Also, we felt that staff in these shops would hate working Sundays,
even though it was stated that no staff member would be forced to work on Sundays
if they chose not to and that this promise would be protected by law.
Further, we believed that companies would not actually make more profit, merely
spread the profit.
I'm here to say "We" were wrong ... on every front. Sunday shopping was and still
is a tremendous success, indeed it's become a major part of people's lives and I too
fell into shopping at DIY outlets (most Sundays!). Of course companies made more
profit, and more staff "liked" working Sunday's than ever refused!
How great it would be to visit the likes of Leroy Merlin on a Sunday to get the DIY
goods you need, when you need them.
The point is that Palma and the wider community could only benefit by Sunday opening.
And trust me, the smaller shops will open too, not because of pressure from anyone
else but because they will see how popular it is. And we have proof: look at any supermarket
open on a Sunday. They're packed.
Please, keep the pressure on for this, as only the Daily Bulletin can do.
It makes perfect sense.
Peter Newey