Plans by the Lidl supermarket chain to open for business tomorrow, Good Friday have been quashed by a legal noticed issued hurriedly on Tuesday. Lidl had advertised on brochures and its website that it would be open tomorrow as usual between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. But the matter came to the attention of Vince Farrugia, the director general of the Chamber of Small and Medium Enterprises – GRTU, who filed a complaint with the Parliamentary Secretary for SMEs Jason Azzopardi.

Mr Farrugia demanded that the law be changed “so that Good Friday remains as it has always been: a special holy day and a family day for all”.

The secretariat responded by issuing a legal notice effectively banning retail on the feast by making a special case for it in the law. The Trading Licences Act makes provision for establishments to be able to obtain a special licence to open on Sundays and public holidays but it has now been amended to bar such licences for Good Friday.

A spokesman for the secretariat confirmed the communication with the GRTU about Good Friday but insisted that the government had not been pressured, pointing out that there had been internal discussions about the issue before the amendments were made.

Mr Farrugia said several retailers last week had drawn the GRTU’s attention to leaflets issued by Lidl saying its outlets would be open for business as usual tomorrow.

The GRTU surveyed a “wide cross section of retailers” to gauge merchants’ opinions about allowing business on Good Friday, Mr Farrugia said. This convinced the chamber that nearly all retailers and customers believe the day should remain “a special one”.

The GRTU, therefore, asked the secretariat to withdraw a permit if one had been issued and amend the trading licence to make it clear there would be no trading on Good Fridays.

Lidl has informed its online registered customers that its branches would be closed tomorrow.

A spokesman for Lidl would not comment on the issue, adding that the “website offers all the required answers to any queries”.

Mr Farrugia said retailers and their employees should be assured that for one day in a year they did not have to go to work.

“All 365 days have become working days. Good Friday means much more than a national public holiday. If there is one day in the calendar that should be kept holy and respected as a special family day, it is certainly Good Friday.

“Although I’m pleased that Lidl has withdrawn its initial plan, the GRTU is not targeting any one particular establishment but wants to clarify that this is the one day that everyone ought to agree should remain a special one,” Mr Farrugia told The Times.

Asked whether this could happen again in Christmas time, Mr Farrugia said Christmas Day and Good Friday were different concepts.

“Christmas is merry and people are in high spirits. A lot of customers do last-minute shopping and the GRTU has not gauged the same resistance on behalf of retailers.

“We don’t think there would be the same magnitude of criticism and pressure from employers as there was on untouchable Good Friday,” he said.

This is not the first time the GRTU and Mr Farrugia have found themselves fighting to have retail outlets shut down on particular days. In 2000, when the Baystreet complex introduced Sunday shopping, the GRTU had gone on the attack, insisting that retailers should not be “forced” to open on Sundays, which are traditionally considered to be days dedicated to the family.

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