Orders of the Day — Business of the House

Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 10:11 pm on 14 April 1986.

Alert me about debates like this

Photo of Mr David Atkinson Mr David Atkinson , Bournemouth East 10:11, 14 April 1986

I shall come to the matter of employee protection a little later and I hope I will be able to answer my hon. Friend. I have received hundreds of letters and as many have been in favour of the Bill as against it. My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary said that he received two petitions and said they were roughly balanced, in favour and against. Opinion polls are similarly divided. There have been many predictions about what would happen following deregulation and they suggest the end of all civilised peace and quiet as we know it on Sunday. Those predictions will prove to be widely exaggerated.

We do not know and cannot accurately forecast what shopkeepers will do about Sunday opening. It will be their own free choice to open on Sunday, or during part of it, or not at all. We do not know whether consumers will choose to shop, if shops are open. One thing is clear, and it is that if all the retailers who have voiced their opposition to deregulation used their new freedom to opt to remain closed on Sunday, very little would change and few people would be required to work on Sunday even if they wanted to, as many do. Under the terms of this Bill, the buck stops with the retailers.

My hon. Friend asked about employee participation. I feel just as strongly about that as any vocal USDAW member. There must be adequate protection in law for employees who choose to put their family and religion first when facing any demand to work on Sunday. I could not support the Bill unless it contained such protection. My right hon. Friend has said that the Bill does contain such protection, including protection against any action short of dismissal. In the course of the debate we have heard it said that such protection will not be adequate. I shall be very worried if that proves to be the case. We must wait and see.