Trading On Public Holidays

This article has been reposted due to additional comments. It was originally posted on 9/1/2012

It is probably time we re-visited the question of trading on public holidays as another pubic holiday is upon us with Australia Day falling on Thursday 26^th January.

Traders might remember that the QVM decided to close on the Tuesday Anzac Day holiday (in lieu) earlier in 2011. General Merchandise Traders objected to the planned closure for the following reasons –

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1.       It was a normal trading day.

2.       The holiday was a day in lieu of Anzac Day which occurred on the Monday.

3.       Anzac Day coincided with Easter, a prime tourist time.

4.       Traders on licences could elect to take a day off from their yearly allocation if they wished.

5.       Traders on leases effectively pay rent for the day whether they trade or not.

6.       The public would expect the market to open.

7.       A comprehensive survey of traders by GMT found over 70% in favour of trading.

CEO Jenny Hibbs rescinded the earlier decision and General Merchandise Traders were able to trade on the Tuesday.  Trading reports ranged from average to very good.

A similar situation arose recently with the Boxing Day Holiday (in lieu) falling on a Tuesday. For similar reasons to those listed above, your traders representatives asked management to open the market for GMT on Tuesday 27^th December, although on this occasion trading reports were almost all very good with plenty of tourists visiting the market.

Australia Day falls on a trading day this month – Thursday 26^th January – and trader’s representatives have maintained their consistent line of asking the market to open on a normal trading day. Management have decided that the top end of the market will be open on Australia Day. Not all traders are going to welcome this decision and it is an unfortunate by-product of majority decisions that we can’t please everyone.

Is it time we re-visited the question of trading on a public holiday? Let us know your thoughts by clicking on the link at the top of the right hand column on this page – “Post A Comment”.

COMMENTS:

ARIEL GABIZON said...

REGARDING TRADING TIME ETC,IT ONLY MAKES SENSE THAT DURING THE WEEK THE MARKET HOURS NEED TO BE EXTENDED BY AT LEAST ONE HOUR. NO WHERE ON EARTH, WOULD A  PLACE AS FAMOUS AS THE "VIC MARKET"  SHUT THE DOORS TO THE CONSUMERS AT 2PM. IT'S A JOKE. THE DAYS OF HAVING A 'LAZY' REPUTATION ARE OVER. THE WORLD IS IN CRISIS AND WE ARE PLAYING THE GAME AS IF WE ARE OK,WE DONT NEED THE MONEY. AFTER SPEAKING TO MANY TRADERS OVER THE LAST FEW MONTHS, I AM SURE THAT MOST TRADERS WILL SUPORT THAT VIEW. THE MARKET MUST BE OPEN ON PUBLIC HOLIDAYS AS WELL. THIS IS A NEW WORLD.THE ADMINISTRATION MUST CONSIDER ALL THIS AS WELL.

10 January 2012 00:22

 Albert said...

Albert Renwood- I have no problem with Trading on a public holiday. I object to being forced to trade on a National Public holiday when it was never the normal practice. It is confusing Customers when the market opens some holidays and closes on others. In previous years these market days were promoted as special markets. Traders have been given no formal notice of this Australia Day trade just word of mouth.

10 January 2012 15:40

Ed said...
You raise some good points Alby. Confusion is certainly one of the issues here. On its own website, and in various publications, the market advertises that it is open every Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday throughout the year except Good Friday, Anzac Day, Melbourne Cup Day, Christmas Day, Boxing Day, and New Years Day. General Merchandise Traders have taken the view that any trading day outside that list (including public holidays in lieu) should be traded. It is a simple rule that could be seen as reducing the confusion.
On the other hand, if enough traders feel strongly about it, perhaps Australia Day should join the exclusion list. Certainly, we should get better notice of what is to happen. Word of mouth notice, two weeks before the event, is really not good enough.

11 January 2012 11:15

Leah said....
If we are to trade on public holidays, they need to advertise a lot more, in general, the hours of the market need to be advertised a lot better. I have so many people asking me everyday what the hours of the market are. I feel we shouldn't trade on Australia Day as most people spend the day at BBQ's and drinking. It's an Australian tradition.
I think it's good for traders to have an extra day or two off from the normal days occasionally.
22 January 2012 21:50