Don't kid yourself...retail workers are pressured to work on Sundays

It's been awhile since I have written an article. Sometimes we just keep putting things off. After reading this article today Colville Walmart sued over Mormon assistant manager's Sunday work . It's about time that I get with the program and start writing.
In Nova Scotia, since Sunday shopping was shoved down our throats, I personally have heard from some workers about being forced to work on Sundays.


So many Nova Scotians thought with the protection and the right to refuse to work on Sundays everything would be OK. Some retail workers called the labor board to ask about their rights. I was one of them and this is what they told me. You can refuse to work on Sundays and they can not retaliate against you for refusing. She then went on to say that an employer may have other reasons for cutting hours.
It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that a business would never admit openly to pressuring an employee to work on Sundays.
The only way to protect retail workers and managers is to out and out ban Sunday shopping. I just love those comments like " you can never go back". Since we live in a democracy a law can go either way. It's a stupid statement to make that we can not go back, because we can.
We all have our beliefs as to what's right and what's wrong. I'd personally be willing to support a binding plebiscite or a referendum that would close stores and all non essential services one day a week. Does it have to be on Sunday? No it doesn't . The problem here is that all religions can not seem to agree what the day of rest should be. Why not hold a democratic vote? Pick you're day ( Monday - Sunday).
Having said that we had a binding plebiscite in 2004 and our government acted illegally. I just cannot imagine why we are remaining silent about this? We were all made fools of. To have another vote of any kind and any other issue the government would be held accountable. Can you imagine if we broke a law? Sounds like a jail term or a high fine. But we sit back and allow our political parties to get away with it.
If a democratic vote means nothing and our families mean nothing, what's left?
While religions go back and forth on what day it should be, families in the meanwhile are suffering with guilt and fear. Guilt is used against an employee by using other co-workers and management against them. " I have to work on Sunday, what's wrong with you taking a turn?" Fear is also used on employees. Some employers may threaten to cut employee's hours for refusing to work on Sundays. No wonder retail workers have a complex. No one is there to stick up for them. No one is there to defend them.
Comparing retail workers to other occupations working on Sundays is a farce. We do not expect letter carriers to work on Sundays like ministers do? At the end of the day our families need time to spend together no matter what day it is. Let's have that one common day to spend together. We set aside Christmas Day, Labour Day, Canada day etc, so why not one day for our families?
And yes I will admit I'd vote for Sunday to be that day as it was always that day that Nova Scotians once valued and loved.