DAIC reiterates calls for lifting restrictions on Sunday trading
Press Release - Monday, May 30th, 2011 at 3:21 PM
CEO of the Dominica Association of Industry and Commerce (DAIC), Achille Chris Joseph.
The Dominica Association of Industry & Commerce, DAIC, reiterates its call for lifting, in whole or in part, the statutory restriction on Sunday trading in the Commonwealth of Dominica. The particular legal restriction states in part,
3. (1) A public holiday under this act shall be kept as a close day in all departments and offices of the public service and all business places in the State.
(2) In this section the expression “business place” means any bank, shop, store, factory, agency or other place of business or employment in the State, and includes any place prescribed by Order of the Minister to be a business place.
The reason for the inclusion of Sunday as a Public Holiday (Sunday was not a holiday prior to May 1990) is not stated in the Act, unlike the other Public Holidays, and while some public pronouncements have expressed the belief that the holiday is for religious worship, the law does not site this at all.
Rather,the Protection of Employment Act (dating back to 1977) makes provision for worship on Saturday and Sunday and the DAIC is not requesting a change in this Statute.
To maintain the status quo is tantamount to saying that the operators of Hotels and Guesthouses,Petrol Stations, Security Services, Supermarkets, Small Shops, Bars and any other establishment that opens for business on Sunday should continue to break the law.
The DAIC is NOT asking for an increase in the working hours of employees or denying an employee the right to worship his Creator. Our diverse membership is aware that some employees insist on Saturday as their day of worship while others maintain the traditional Sunday
The need to amend the legislation is strictly to regularize a situation that is already accepted by theGovernment, the General Public and even the very ones who suggest that Sunday should be left alone while agreeing that it is OK for businesses to open on Sundays once they pay employees double time.
The DAIC is not denying that it is in the interest of its members not to have to pay double time for work doneon Sunday, however, we are happy and willing to uphold and support the payment of overtime on work beyond a 40 hour week and of course the payment of double time for the other statutory Public Holidays.
We think this fair.
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22 Comments
Achille ; consider your request please ,too many things are happening in todays day . we all need to find time and place to worship .Dominica is too blessed.
Ask for work on Sunday and you will be at your home with your legs crossed
*************************NO NO NO*************************************
If we do this we will be destroying the very fabric of our society; the time of being together with our families. It might not be important to the DAIC but it is important to Dominicans.
We seem to value MONEY instead of spending just one day with our family!!!
I say Sunday must be left alone.
There has to be a restful time when families can come together in the week!!
Forgetting religion, we haven’t even got enough business to fill the 5 days of the week, muchless for Sunday. Even on a Saturday when everyone comes out to shop it is no where like a real city. If people want to lose money, open on Sunday.
Including religion, lots of people go to church on a Sunday, and use it as a family day. So why take this away? in big cities we see the break down of families. There is no time for the children, and the family is never together because one parent always has to work. I personally think that the few shops that stay open till midday or 1p.m for food and medical essentials, and the fruit and veg stalls along with the souse and black pudding sold is just right for a Sunday. No need to spoil it. Let people relax and enjoy life. We still haven’t learnt from the big cities where people hardly get a chance to relax, live only for work rather than work to live, raise wayward children, think only of money, and don’t know what it means to treat other people like human beings.
what don’t he believe in God…and the value of sunday!!
If you say you believe in God, read your Bible again. There is no solemnity in Sunday.
You know what? If we had all accepted the Bible ordained Holy Day instead of the man-made Holiday, we would not be here discussing the merits of opening for business on Sundays.
I am not in favour!
Why haven’t you guys considered adjusting the working hours like 9-5 instead of 8-4? This to me would really be directly assisting the working class. Like a poor struggling mother with 3 kids to prepare for school for 8 in the morning and in addition having to prepare herself for work at 8. This is tremendous stress on working people.
No one sees it fit to send the kids out for 8 and local businesses open for 9. This will give parents an hour to take care of themselves for work and it will also alleviate that traffic problem we have.
Have you thought of that Archille?????
It may take me a while to understand what you are saying but I will try. Are you saying that according to the laws of the commonwealth of Dominica, working on a Sunday is a crime? Are you saying that businesses whch open on Sunday are breaking some kind of law or violating some kind of rule? Well, this is news to me. Then again, not adhering to the laws in Dominica is nothing new.
My question is, are you advocating for the rule to be taken off so that the businesses which choose to open on Sunday will not be violating any rule? Or are you saying that the rule should be taken off to allow more businesses to open on a Sunday? I am pleasantly confused.
My point is when we advocate for certain things to please a few, we forget to think for ourselves and look at the bigger picture. Not just the nice painting the person shows you. As of now, we operate on a forty (40) hour work week. When the week changes to seven days a week, then the company would have so much to consider; one of them is employing more people and another is cost effectiveness of opening on a Sunday when there is little to no commerce. The increase in employment would be the best thing ever for our country. My fear is that workers will be cheated of their fair pay and fair overtime pay. To avoid this, a worker would have to work just under six (6) hours a day. Would any employer agree to this?
I wish someone would clear the air for me as to what exactly does the DAIC want.
@ Prophet,
The questions we should be asking is why was Sunday made a public holiday in May 1990. Was there any opposition to this inclusion then? What were the pros and cons during the debate?
Amendments are the products of the inevitability of change. Like you, I would like to hear exactly what the DAIC is proposing before jumping to conclusions.
One Love
He alone will work on a Sunday.I just kee-yah understand mister dem.
Changes and more changes:chains and more chains:how far will man go to place yokes on the necks of the people in the name of progress.you remember how our ancestors worked 7 on 7;no rest.I talking about SLAVERY! all what they fought for is secretly being wiped away.well this is progress
so the world of Dominica has become a place where one man wants to dictate that people work on Sundays to please him. So, i se Bondyie den? Is it the law according to Achille Joseph? Why is he so adamant tha the law should change, hasn’t he noticed that Skerro not in his thing. Garcon leave well alone. If you want to go to your church on Saturday and work on Sunday tha is you Achille, but let those of us who worship on Sunday do it in peace perfect peace. And you Mr. IGA, watch you self good. NO LAW NOT CHANGING FOR ACHILLE I SAY NO WAY HOSAY.
Let’s be really honest lady.
Are you telling me you cannot go to church and work on the same day? Then what did you do before May 1990? That’s when the law was passed to include Sunday as a public holiday. I don’t think anyone is dictating anything here except you with your “NO LAW NOT CHANGING FOR ACHILLE I SAY NO WAY HOSAY”
Providing more options as to what days people work is what’s being discussed, not when people can worship. By the way, today is Sunday. Shouldn’t you be in church?
Congratulations to DNO for bringing such issues to us in “real time”.
One Love
Even the Lord recognized the need for Him to make time to worship His Father and to rest. The world has become commercialized that we forget the simple things in life, like time for Praise and Worship, time for prayer. We need to become a nation who is recognizing Jesus as the head. Only and only then will we become prosperous. The good book has ‘Blessed is the nation who fears the Lord’. Friends let us fear the Lord and we will see wonders in our family, community and country by extension. Let us continue to worship our Lord on Sunday.
The statements by the DAIC Chairman seems to have brought not only work but religion into focus. However I made some observations about your post and I requoted you.
“Even the Lord recognized the need for Him to make time to worship His Father and to rest.”
“We need to become a nation who is recognizing Jesus as the head”
“Let us continue to worship our Lord on Sunday.”
The Lord recognised the need for Him to worship His father and rest. My question to you is what day did that same Lord enjoin or command for worship and rest? Was it the first day of the week or what we call Sunday? Or was it some other day? There is no place in the Bible where you can find any command by God to worship on the first day of the week..
Now you said “We need to become a nation who is recognizing Jesus as the head”, but went further by saying” Let us continue to worship our Lord on Sunday.” Does worshipping the Lord on Sunday an act of recognizing Jesus as the head? Sunday is a man-made day of worship instituted by the Roman Catholic Church so to worship on Sunday means you are honoring someone else , not Jesus as your head.
Go read you Bible again and if you fear the Lord as you purport, you should find out which is the God ordaineed day of worship and begin worshipping on that day.
Please leave everything as it is. If there is an activity on a Sunday and business owners want to open there places, they are free to do so but it should not be mandatory. It should also be left to the workers to decide if they want to work on a Sunday. I for one will not work on a Sunday, so why make a law that is going to affect my right. Please again, to the policy makers, do not allow Mr Joseph to dictate his personal opinion to you all. Hope for the best.
“Hope for the best.”
its not just hoping for the best, our unions have to vehimently oppose such calls, and stand up for the rights of is the workers.
Archille find work to do, leave sunday worshipers alone, we need our day to worship our god please if you is a yaweh or sevendays hold yur end, we doh have problem with dat but please leave our sunday alone,
@ gwol,
I think you missed the point. No one is telling you not to worship on Sunday. People do work and worship on Sunday in Dominica. Doctors, nurses, police and others find ways to work and worship on Sunday.
In retrospect, the majority of Dominicans who claim they would prefer to keep Sunday as a no-work day, do so not to worship, but to recuperate from a hangover and other effects of drinking and partying on Friday and Saturday.
Also, please pay closer attention when your priest is delivering the sermon, because I remember him saying “Judge not, lest ye be judged”. Even if Archille is wicked, it is not our place to judge him.
One Love
The politicians need their votes the next time around and so if they want well they must come well so leave that alone and do not waste time on it. It will certainly get nowhere. Not in DA
Yeah nuff said by you…Good Stuff
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