Union’s threat to Christmas as calls to scrap 7am starts pits workers against bosses

The West Australian,
A Christmas tree at Karrinyup shopping centre.
A Christmas tree at Karrinyup shopping centre.Picture: File

The State’s major retail union is demanding Perth abandons 7am starts to Christmas shopping, putting it on a collision course with business groups and the State Government.

Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees’ Association of WA State secretary Peter O’Keefe yesterday said the union had written to the Department of Commerce calling for no 7am shopping starts this festive season.

The union also wants an 11am start to New Year’s Day shopping, rather than from 8am to 5pm, saying it was a “family and recovery day”.

The union’s position puts it at odds with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of WA which wants more opportunities for retailers to open their doors at 7am in the lead-up to Christmas.

It also puts it at odds with the State Government, which usually allows some 7am shopping on weekdays during the month of December.

Mr O’Keefe said shopping patterns last Christmas showed shoppers largely ignored the 7am starts.

“There should be no 7am starts,” Mr O’Keefe said.

“You will recall last year that the Government delayed the introduction of 7am starts until the week before Christmas Day.

“Despite this, anecdotal evidence showed that, again, consumers failed to take advantage of these early starts.

“Also, based on my personal experiences and those of other SDA staff who were set the task of investigating the issue, it was only Coles, Woolworths, Kmart and Target plus one or two small retailers who chose to open at 7am.

“In other words, the 7am experiment has been in our view, rejected by retailers and consumers alike.

“As such, and given its unpopularity with retail workers, it should be abandoned.”

The McGowan Government came under fire last year for allowing 7am shopping on weekdays in the lead-up to Christmas — including Christmas Eve — from December 17.

The year before, the 7am starts had begun earlier in December.

Just this week, the CCI called on the Government “not to be the Grinch of Christmas and let shops open”.

“Last year, the State Government reduced usual extended retail trading hours by more than 30 per cent over the Christmas period,” CCI boss Chris Rodwell said.

“The decision was anti-jobs, unsupportive of shopping families and ignored the threat of online competition to local retailers. Polling revealed that 70 per cent of businesses and 74 per cent of West Australians disagreed with the State Government’s decision.

“Sixty five per cent of West Australians and 60 per cent of businesses believed people were more likely to shop online, which hurts local retailers.”

A spokeswoman for Commerce Minister John Quigley yesterday said consultation regarding trading hours over the Christmas-New Year period had started.

She said the outcome of those discussions would be announced “in due course”.