Police did not need to take action against shops that chose to open yesterday, a public holiday, because those that traded paid €700 for a licence to do so, according to government sources.
Chamber of Small and Medium Enterprises - GRTU director general Vince Farrugia had warned last Friday that a number of shops were expected to defy the law and open for business on Workers' Day because they objected to the licence fee. However, the predicted mass act of defiance failed to materialise.
When contacted yesterday, Mr Farrugia said although most shops remained closed, others chose to roll up their shutters and did good business given it was the first pay-day weekend after Easter, coupled with the fine weather.
"We are happy with the way things turned out. Those who wanted to open did open and while some, such as the shops at Tigné Point, paid the €700, others did not," Mr Farrugia said, pointing out that he had received only three reports of shop owners who were contacted by police.
However, government sources said most of the shops that opened were those normally licensed to do so on public holidays and Sundays, playing down the significance of the action.
Mr Farrugia said the government should not have "blown the issue out of proportion" and insisted that ministers were "over sensitive because some still see it as a sacred Workers' Day".
"We advised our members not to force anybody to work if they opened," he added.
However, Charles Camilleri, managing director of Camilleri Group, which owns a number of retail outlets, said he was not comfortable with a situation where he would be enjoying a day off while his employees manned his shops on public holidays.
"Workers' Day celebrates workers and I feel my employees should enjoy it. Money is not everything and it is important for shop owners to treat employees in a humane way. Everybody is entitled to his day of rest," Mr Camilleri said.
He also questioned whether the same argument to allow shops to open on public holidays should apply to government offices, banks, insurance companies and other businesses in the service industry.
Last week, the GRTU asked government to relax the law for May 1 given that it fell on a Saturday, which meant shops would be closed for an entire weekend. The government turned down the request but shops had the option to pay a special licence fee.
The GRTU is asking for a review of the situation so that when public holidays coincide with long weekends, retailers would have the option to open for business.
ksansone@timesofmalta.com