The beauty of the fact we live in a democracy is that we are free to have our own opinions and can communicate those views to the government if we are so inclined. One of the ways you can do this is by contacting your MP but realistically, you’re one voice amongst thousands who are contacting them and even if they have an opportunity to work on your issue, they too are only one voice trying to make a difference. It’s also a very time consuming process.
In comes an alternative hero in the form of the humble petition. They’re one of the best ways for the general public to make their opinions known to the Westminster government and due to their success, there have been calls for a similar system to be introduced in the Stormont administration. The petitions have a dedicated website that can be browsed at leisure and if one speaks to you on a personal note, you can sign your name to it by providing just your name, email address and postcode. Once there have been 10,000 signatures on a petition, the government has to officially respond and a debate held once it has reached 100,000 signatures although there are cases where the details of the petition are discussed in Parliament before this magic number has been reached as it’s a topic of high public concern.
At the moment, there is a lot of attention being drawn to a petition that calls for shops to stay closed on Boxing Day. It first appeared on an independent petition website where it has gathered more than 200,000 supporters and the follow-up version on the official website has more than half of that, thus securing a debate in the near future.
It’s interesting that these petitions have seen so much support this time around as there was one previously that only received 27,000 signatories in the six months that it was active. That was enough to elicit a response from the government who dismissed the call for action, saying, “We do not believe it is for central Government to tell businesses how to run their shops or how best to serve their customers. Therefore we are not proposing to ban shops from opening on Boxing Day.”
I doubt we’re going to see a different response this time around but it’s obviously something that a lot of people want. The reasoning behind the petition is that Christmas is supposed to be a time for family and one day off for those working in retail isn’t enough time to see all of your extended family, especially if Christmas Day is dedicated to staying at home with your immediate family, perhaps attending a place of worship, enjoying a home-cooked Christmas dinner and marvelling over the presents that everyone has received.
The run up to Christmas is exhausting for everyone so when the day finally arrives, you soon realise that one day isn’t enough to recharge your internal batteries. I was trying to buy a printer in town on Sunday and was astonished enough at how many people were around to tweet that it was more like the week before Christmas rather than the month before. Getting parked was nearly impossible, shelves were empty and it was an exercise in skill to weave my way through all the people in the shops. The only thing missing was the trolleys piled high with panic-induced buying of bread and milk. It’s a far cry from the leisurely Sunday shopping that I’ve become accustomed to over the past few months.
That panic buying is made moot by the fact that our shops do open again on Boxing Day. My mother likes to laugh about how so many people wouldn’t cope if they lived in my grandfather’s era where the shops closed for a week between Christmas and the new year. Nowadays, people are going to bed early on Christmas day out of a necessity to be able to get up early for the sales.
I’ve worked in retail on Boxing Day and it’s one of the most thankless things you can do. If shoppers are in looking for bargains, then manners are sometimes forgotten in favour of elbows. Many however are in trying to return presents that didn’t quite meet their expectations and often do not have a receipt, which makes the process take a lot longer and sometimes it comes down to the discretion of the sales assistant. Given that Boxing Day is stressful for those marshalling the cash registers, goodwill isn’t in high supply and I’d always advise would-be returners to leave it a couple of days to make it easier on everyone. Workers try to give that industry standard service with a smile, but sometimes it’s understandably difficult. An extra day off would make that an easier scenario to face.
While I do agree with the ethos of closing shops on Boxing Day, we cannot afford to forget those who have no other choice but to work on even the most public of holidays. Criminals don’t take a day off and so neither can the police service or those working in prisons. Those who cannot drive will need transport to see their families and so our taxi drivers are still going to be out on the roads as we fill ourselves with brandy butter. We will enjoy the festive films and Christmas specials that adorn our televisions but often forget that someone is in charge of making sure that they are broadcast on time. Some choose to eat out. Doctors, nurses, paramedics and healthcare assistants are all on hand to help if we take a turn for the worse.
The problem is that our shops aren’t going to close on Boxing Day when the online sales are in full swing from the day before. I think a change in priorities is needed with regards to focusing on employees rather than the pursuit of profit. If someone is willing to get up early for Boxing Day sales, they’ll be willing to do so a day later. They aren’t going to lose out that much because those who like to shop online will do that anyway regardless of physical store opening times.
This is a decision that doesn’t have to be changed by Parliament. It’s a power in the hands of individual employers and retailers. Time will tell if this petition makes any difference but honestly, I hope that it does. You can’t but a price on the time that is spent doing what you love, doing nothing but relaxing or spending quality time with family.