Shop shoppers shop after shopping shops

 

Labour Department staff who shop shops for opening on Good Friday and Easter Sunday have been spotted shopping in these shops afterwards.

Every Easter the Department of Labour issues New Zealand businesses with thousands of dollars worth of fines for opening their doors.

However, the Department has been left red-faced after revelations that some of its inspectors are doing a bit of shopping on the job.

Music retailer Mark Thomas has already received a warning that if his store opens this Easter he will be fined thousands of dollars.

It has happened before with penalties issued by Department of Labour inspectors. But Thomas says their brand of enforcement is hypocritical.
 
“It’s quite funny really. They serve us the notice and occasionally they’ll give us the notice and head off shopping in our shop for half an hour,” explained Thomas. “We smile to ourselves and think ‘what’s the point of that’.”

The regulations which allow some, but not all, businesses to operate on these two days, require Labour Department to work on their holidays shopping the shops which shouldn’t be serving shoppers and they then show they’re less than 100% behind shopping the shops by shopping there themselves.

After 3 News asked the Department to comment, it issued a statement saying “any such behaviour is inappropriate. It is unfortunate that this matter is only now being reported, however the Department would appreciate any information about this alleged incident so that we can investigate it, and if necessary, take action.”

However, the Minister was not taking such a hard line.
 
“I think Labour inspectors are entitled to choose whether they shop or not and personally I think businesses can choose whether they open or not and it is a matter of choice,” said Labour Minister Kate Wilkinson. “But then again I don’t condone breaking the law either.”

Easter trading law is a mess, particularly in places like Wanaka where you have one business which is permitted to open next to another carrying out a similar operation which isn’t.

Then Otago, now Waitaki, MP Jacqui Dean tried to get a private members’ bill through to exempt Wanaka businesses but failed and the law is so bad it shouldn’t be tinkered with it should be scrapped.

I don’t see businesses opening as a threat to Christian beliefs. Those who wish Good Friday and Easter Sunday to be sacred can observe them as such regardless of whether the law permits shops to open or not. And changing the law would mean Labour Department staff wouldn’t have to work on these days either so could shop without having to shop the shops first.