No intention to change shop opening hours – labour minister

There is no intention to diversify the framework governing shop opening hours, Labour Minister Yiannis Panayiotou, reiterated on Wednesday.

Speaking on CyBC’s morning programme the minister noted that shops have been allowed the flexibility to operate on Sundays for decades.

“If the legal service considers that some regulation is needed, it will be studied, without affecting the existing operating framework of shops,” Panayiotou said, referring to suggestions that a legal loophole exists disadvantaging workers.

The ministry of labour has the authority to regulate labour matters but not matters of commerce, Panayiotou said, adding that all issues pertaining to overtime and public holidays are clearly spelled out in existing labour laws.

The Employers’ and Industrialists’ Federation (OEV) on Tuesday railed against suggestions of a potential reduction in shop opening hours.

“Opening hours are not just for shop owners. They concern consumers, who enthusiastically embraced the regulations introduced by the late [Labour Minister] Zeta Emilianidou at the height of the economic crisis in 2013.”

They added that as a result of the extended hours introduced in 2013, people “in the thousands” found full-time or part-time employment in the retail trade.

They criticised a “group of business owners in the sector” which has opposed any attempt to expand the operating framework for three decades.

In the discussion before the House labour committee concerns had been raised that small businesses would be forced to close due to their inability to compete with large multinational companies, but OEV said that on the contrary, Cyprus has “the largest number of shops in proportion to population in the whole of Europe”.