Bank holiday opening ‘turning workers into slaves’

Small and medium businesses operating on Anexartisias Street, in Limassol, accused big retailers of turning workers into slaves by making them work on bank holidays.

Christis Demetriou, their representative, said they would remain shut on Monday, August 15, because it was unthinkable for some to abolish official bank holidays on the days of the biggest celebrations in Christianity.

August 15 is a big religious holiday for Greek Orthodox Christians, marking the dormition of the Virgin Mary.

Shops traditionally remained closed on August 15, but the debacle with the shop hours law, has essentially liberalised the market.

The labour ministry has asked businesses to observe the holiday but several, mainly supermarkets and malls, said they would be opening.

“Small and medium businesses and the middle class are disappearing because of the work hours liberalisation and Sunday opening, but also the abolition of bank holidays,” Demetriou said. “Workers have become slaves, and let us not hide behind our fingers – because they are threatened with losing their job if they don’t work on August 15.”

He added that big businesses were abolishing bank holidays one by one and wondered whether Christmas and New Year’s Eve would be next.

“The owner of a supermarket chain and three mall owners have control over what is happening, set their own work hours, and shape their own retail trade,” he said.

Demetriou said abolishing Sundays would bring them on an equal footing with large retail centres and from then on they would have nothing to fear.

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