Court rejects small shopkeepers’ appeal

THE Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected an appeal by small shopkeepers union POVEK against decrees regulating shop opening hours in designated tourist areas Labour Minister Zeta Emilianidou had issued in 2013.

According to reports, the court ruled the legality of the decrees could not be questioned as the regulations were of a legislative nature.

Amid the furore, Emilianidou was stripped of the authority to issue the decrees last year after a parliamentary vote by the majority of opposition parties.

The Supreme court said will be issuing a ruling this week on the dispute over shop hours which has triggered a return to the 2006 working hours with Sundays closed and early finishes on Wednesday and Saturday, causing hardship to consumers.

 

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