The National Assembly on Thursday passed an amendment to fix uniform working hours for certain businesses.
With the passage of the Shops (Consolidation) (Amendment) Bill 2009, uniform opening and closing hours are laid out for shops, restaurants, cook shops, parlours, barbershops and hairdressing establishments.
According to the bill’s explanatory note, it is to provide for uniform opening and working hours for certain shops and establishments in both urban and rural areas as well as to address overlaps of the Shops Act, the Licensing Premises Act and the Labour (Conditions of Employment of certain Workers) Acts.
Minister of Labour Manzoor Nadir explained that the bill would provide certain workers within the commercial sector the opportunity to conduct business outside what were the previous normal working hours. PNCR MP Basil Williams indicated his party’s support for the bill, saying that it is in keeping with the party’s fundamental belief that the private sector should be the engine of growth.
The bill repeals and re-enacts the First Schedule of the Shops Act. Under the new First Schedule, shops are allowed to be opened everyday from 7:30 am to 10 pm; restaurants and cook shops everyday for 14 hours; and parlours as well as barbershops and hairdresser’s establishments everyday from 6 am to midnight.
It also addresses overlaps of the Shops Act and related legislation.
The definition of “shop” is amended by the bill so as to exclude “licensed premises,” as defined in the Licensed Premises Act, from the purview of the Shops Act. Also, the definition of “shop assistant” is proposed to be amended so as to exclude “workers” as defined in the 1978 Labour Act from the scope of “shop assistant.”
