Sunday sales not Caymanian, residents say

The government would introduce its most “unfriendly family policy” and injure Caymanian culture if it allows Sunday trading, some residents say.

That was the sentiment among some of the 40 people engaged in a heated debate about potential changes to Sunday sales regulations at a public meeting in George Town last Thursday night.

It was the second meeting hosted last week by Commerce Minister Wayne Panton and Department of Commerce and Investment representatives. About 10 residents attended a Bodden Town meeting Tuesday night but did not offer any objections to potential changes.

However, the George Town crowd expressed numerous concerns that allowing or extending trading on Sundays would create a “competitive disadvantage” for businesses and would have a negative impact on the island’s family and religious values.

“I believe Cayman has followed the rest of the world enough already. This is probably the last hurdle that separates Cayman from the rest of the world,” one resident said. “We have our tradition. It needs to be respected and it needs to maintained.”

In response to tourism factors, the group cited the saying “when in Rome …” and said tourists should respect the Caymanian culture, which is off “the world’s merry-go-round.”

“Everybody comes here because it’s a special place, because it’s better, but now they want to change it to be like back home,” a resident said.

The majority said there is already too much trading on Sundays and suggested stopping all trading completely, including closing gas stations, saying people would not need to be able to purchase items seven days a week if they were better prepared.

“People are not thinking about the damage to the island. They are talking about the three or four times a year they forget something and need to go to the store,” said another resident.

Another person said, “If you open something large like Foster’s, how many of those employees have children they won’t be able to tend to on a Sunday?”

The impact on family was a major concern, with residents saying the changes would mean the government puts money before family.

“The family is the root of society. When that goes, society goes. Sunday gives everyone a chance to rest and to be with their families,” one resident said.

While fewer than a handful of residents supported the introduction of Sunday trading, others suggested the government should call a referendum on the issue.

Mervin Smith said he is firmly against Sunday trading that would force him to operate his plumbing business as a result of other businesses being open.

“What’s going to happen is, the cost of the product will increase and the price of labor will go down,” Mr. Smith said.

“The promoting of Sunday labor has been going on for long enough and that’s why I said to you that’s its going to have to go to a referendum.”

“Clearly, we could have a referendum, but that is at a cost. It may not be necessary to go to that expense,” Minister Panton said.

He said the issue has been around for a long time, and he recognized that a lot of businesses do operate on Sundays in violation of the current law.

“There are legitimate needs being served at these stores even though technically they are in breach of the law. We don’t want to penalize stores that are generally serving the needs of the community,” Mr. Panton said.

“It has been developing over a long period of time, society has tolerated and benefited from it. There are loads of businesses that are currently allowed to open on a Sunday but they choose not to.”

He said Sunday trading would expand consumer choice, could help grow the domestic product and potentially drive employment.

He said the government would not advocate one way or another on the issue.

“These are issues that we are not prejudging. There are arguments that are put forward for it, and there are arguments that are against,” Mr. Panton said.

“The government is not taking a position on the issue. We are generally seeking to get feedback for the people of the country.”

Residents can complete an online survey at www.dci.gov.ky. Public consultation closes Sept. 30.