About 45 Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees’ Association members from Orange, Bathurst, Dubbo and Mudgee attended the function to represent about 3000 retail workers.

The meeting was a chance to question  candidates for the state seat of Orange on the proposed Boxing Day trading  and whether they supported cutting penalty rates, something vehemently opposed by the union.

Among those who attended were Woolworths employee Tracy Morton and Woolworths Petrol employee Kathy Dillon, both of Orange, who where both opposed to introducing Boxing Day trading and reducing penalty rates.

“It would affect me only because I’ve got two children and I’ve got six grandchildren, I’ve got family that live in Sydney, if they take Boxing Day I will not get to see anyone,” Mrs Moreton said.

“Woolworths doesn’t have a lot of casuals any more, they have a roster, the pressure will be there to work on Boxing Day, employers say that there won’t but there will be.”

As a petrol station employee Mrs Dillon already works on Boxing Day and said she does not get to see much of her family as a result.

Working as a member of a team with each person having family they want to spend time with she said there was always pressure to work on the public holiday.

“I don’t think any retail should work because they have been in the shops leading up to Christmas, the abuse is horrific and the pressure on the staff is over the top, customers are rude because they are in a hurry and I think every retail and hospitality worker needs a rest for two days.”

Country Labor candidate Bernard Fitzsimon was the only candidate to attend the meeting and signed a form saying he opposed relaxing the Boxing Day trading ban and would not cut penalty rates.

Association NSW secretary Bernie Smith said Nationals candidate and current member for Orange Andrew Gee sent an apology, which he was fine with and members would engage with Mr Gee and other non attending candidates directly. 

“For a lot of our members they have to travel significant distances to see family at all, if you come from a blended family you might spend Christmas with your mum and Boxing Day with your dad or the other way around.”

Mr Smith said while he understood why essential services worked on Boxing Day, retail was not an essential service.

“It’s so hard in the lead-up to Christmas, they are so tired and then they get stuck back into it on the 27th,” Mr Smith said.

“With the sales there’s no extra benefit, people don’t have more money to spend, it’s just what day they spend it on.”

tanya.marschke@fairfaxmedia.com.au