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Overheated shops, manic bargain-hunting shoppers, endless queues and 'I Wish it Could be Christmas Everyday' on repeat makes shopping during the festive season bad enough for customers, so imagine how it feels for those who are going to be stuck on a nine-hour shift in Primark, instead of getting merry on booze and stuffing their faces with mince pieces with their loved ones. That was probably the thinking behind a Change.org petition calling for shops to be closed on Boxing Day which has gained more than 170,000 signatures.
The petition, launched by Ian Lapworth, calls on shops to be closed in order to give retail workers some 'decent family time to relax and enjoy the festivities like everyone else'. He writes, 'We managed 30 and 40 years ago... when shops were sometimes shut for a whole week. Let's get back to the way it was. Forget making money for one day, let's concentrate on making more memories with the ones we love'.
However, the petition which has mostly been signed by overworked staff, is unlikely to gain much support from Theresa May, as a similar petition launched last year which received this response from the UK government: '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'. Although that petition only received 25,000 signatures, so there might be hope for retail staff yet.
Becky Frances/Flickr
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