Greengrocers declare ‘May Day’ in Cyprus

Fruit and vegetable stores in the Republic of Cyprus stunned the public for being prepared to violate a government decree on labor day this Holy Saturday, but a bigger surprise came from supermarkets that plan to stay closed.

After renewed debate on shopping hours, a long and protracted legal question in the Republic of Cyprus, Labor Minister Zeta Emilianidou last month cited legislation in her decision not to engage in discussion with supermarkets that wanted to remain open on International Workers Day on May 1.

This year May Day, a holiday for working people, happens to fall on Holy Saturday, a rather important day for busy consumers just before Easter Sunday. This initially prompted supermarket owners to challenge the labor minister and a law regulating shopping hours that had been ruled unconstitutional by a lower court.

Further discussion was then cut short after Health Minister Constantinos Ioannou included a reference to the controversial 2006 law in his decree for the current pandemic lockdown, essentially forcing supermarket owners to back down.

But one group says they won’t close on May 1, after organized greengrocers announced this week they will remain open on Saturday to sell their produce.

Greengrocers said they need to remain open otherwise they will be forced to throw away produce that wouldn’t last through Easter Sunday and Easter Monday, two days when everything except bakeries and convenience stores will be shut down.

While the matter with supermarkets remained unresolved, the Cyprus Supermarket Association said members within their network were advised to remain closed Saturday through Monday, and re-open on Tuesday.

But previously, CSA president Andreas Hadjiadamou said the network had called on members to remain open on Saturday if they wished, in order to give an extra day and avoid overcrowding.

“Many members had already made arrangements to serve as many customers as possible in such a way to avoid overcrowding during the pandemic,” Hadjiadamou said.

But on Thursday Hadjiadamou clarified the latest CSA guidance to members was not to violate emergency health laws.

“Given the latest developments, even though this move reinforces our view and shows how they tried to use decrees to bully supermarkets and shops into staying closed, we have urged our members not to violate executive orders that have to do with the pandemic,” the CSA president said.

According to local reports, before the health minster issued the lockdown orders, Emilianidou had been called to consider a compromise where May 1 holiday could be moved on a different day to accommodate both Holy Saturday shoppers but also give workers in all industries a day off on a normal weekday.

Supermarkets are expected to operate normally on Good Friday, and remain closed Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. All shops will open normally on Tuesday.