General stores to close on holidays

ALL general stores will remain closed on Christmas, Boxing Day, New Year’s Day, January 2 and January 6, according to an announcement by the Labour ministry.

Specialty stores may remain open on these days, but under the law employees must be compensated with double pay per hour of work.

On Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve all general stores must shut by 6pm.

Earlier this month, parliament rejected new government regulations that afforded all shops extended operating hours.

The move signals a reversion to the 2006 law, where shops will close at 3pm on Wednesdays, 2pm on Saturdays, and cannot open on Sundays.

At the moment, shops are working extended hours under the provisions of a special ‘holiday’ status, lasting until January 1.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.