EVEN if you’re one of those who aren’t affected by the searing heat that’s setting in, as an inhabitant of Cyprus you have no choice but to go into summer mode: the time-honored siesta is here.
Don’t bother stealing a half hour from work, because you won’t find any shops open from 2 to 5 pm. As of yesterday, up until the end of August, shopkeepers strictly adhere to the new timetable. It’s the law, after all.
This time every year, debate rages on the issue. Small shopkeepers want to keep the current arrangement, but their interests conflict with those of larger stores, such as hypermarkets and malls, who can afford to operate throughout the day with no breaks.
For some months, the Labour Ministry has been looking to amend the legislation; a draft bill being prepared proposes to make the mid-afternoon siesta optional. But for obvious reasons, that cannot be a standalone measure, because this impacts so many aspects, such as opening hours and half-days.
As it stands now, the draft bill would abolish the Wednesday and Saturday half days, delay opening hours on Monday, and keep stores open until 7pm on Friday and Saturday.
Several of these proposals would be welcomed by the vast majority of consumers, especially an extension of weekend shopping hours.
Striving to juggle a web of clashing business interests, the government has been forced to make operating hours just part of a package of measures. For example, hypermarkets are complaining of unfair competition by kiosks and convenience stores, which are allowed to sell virtually anything they like and are open 24 hours a day. In response, the Labour Ministry composed a list of items that kiosks could sell, and even designated a shop’s maximum area in square metres.
Kiosk owners were up in arms over this, with a weeklong boycott on the sale of state lottery tickets and warning that they were being driven out of business. According to reports, the square meters restriction has since been dropped from the draft bill.
Stephanos Koursaris, general secretary of POVEK (small shopkeepers association) told the Cyprus Mail that they would not back down from the demand to keep the siesta, and even wanted to extend it to mid-September.
“The summer weather in Cyprus makes it extremely impractical to work during those hours. Employees need a break.”
Koursaris also dismissed the argument that it would make more sense for stores to be able to choose whether they should lock up or keep running. In that case, he said, what would happen would be that no one would shut shop.
“Shopkeepers keep an eye on each other. If they see that their neighbour is open, they’ll do the same. Understandably, they don’t want to lose out on potential customers.”
Koursaris added he did not expect the bill to be voted in parliament anytime before August, which is when parliament reconvenes after the summer hiatus.
But he issued a pre-emptive warning nonetheless: “If our main demands (siesta) are ignored, rest assured we shall react dynamically…very dynamically.”
