<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" standalone="yes" ?><rss version="2.0" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"><channel><title><![CDATA[Jubilee Centre - Blog]]></title><link>http://www.jubilee-centre.org/jubilee/blogs.php</link><description><![CDATA[Comments on the blog: More People to Work Christmas Day]]></description><language>en-gb</language><lastBuildDate>Wed, 23 Dec 2009 12:43:53 GMT</lastBuildDate><item><title><![CDATA[Karen Turnbull]]></title><link>http://www.jubilee-centre.org/comments/255/more_people_to_work_christmas_day#comment1304</link><description><![CDATA[I agree with Ann Course in that there are many people who are essential to us, working on Christmas/Boxing Day. But its a different matter for retail. I mean, really, who needs to buy a TV on Boxing Day? And that's the problem. If we didn't go out and buy stuff on those days, the shops wouldn't open. We are all responsible, not just "big business".]]></description><guid>http://www.jubilee-centre.org/comments/255/more_people_to_work_christmas_day#comment1304</guid><pubDate>Wed, 23 Dec 2009 12:43:53 GMT</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Anne Course]]></title><link>http://www.jubilee-centre.org/comments/255/more_people_to_work_christmas_day#comment1303</link><description><![CDATA[Not everyone who will be working this Christmas has a choice. My daughter is a domiciliary care assistant, and goes out to old people to make sure they have taken their tablets properly and puts them to bed etc.  Their needs do not stop on Christmas Day, and she must still have petrol in her car to do her job. Where would we be if ambulance crews, fire services, medical staff, TV crews, police, even the gritter lorry drivers, decided they would stay at home because it was Christmas? ]]></description><guid>http://www.jubilee-centre.org/comments/255/more_people_to_work_christmas_day#comment1303</guid><pubDate>Tue, 22 Dec 2009 16:53:11 GMT</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Mark Savage]]></title><link>http://www.jubilee-centre.org/comments/255/more_people_to_work_christmas_day#comment1300</link><description><![CDATA[While I share your sadness, John, at the erosion of Boxing Day as a holiday, and now the incursion into Christmas Day too, I fear the real culprit is the very medium through which you are sharing your views.
24/7 internet shopping provision means that, whether their motives are greed or otherwise, even the most socially conscious high street or out of town retailer feels obliged to compete as far as possible by offering ever longer opening hours. You only need look at John Lewis, who resisted Sunday opening for so long, but now find they have to.
And yet, there is still hope. What about the excellent example set by "The Entertainer" chain? This company was set up and run by committed Christians who resolutely refuse to open on Sundays, even in the highly competitive run-up to Christmas.  It might not please some of their more avaricious landlords in big malls, but The Entertainer have stuck to their guns- and contrary to expectations have suffered no negative effects on their overall trading figures. 
Perhaps it's time for more family-minded employers to make a stand, whatever the pressures, over weekend and holiday working? And for more Christians to recognise, too, the power of their own pound, by only using businesses which respect traditional holidays and work patterns?
]]></description><guid>http://www.jubilee-centre.org/comments/255/more_people_to_work_christmas_day#comment1300</guid><pubDate>Mon, 21 Dec 2009 21:40:32 GMT</pubDate></item><atom:link href="http://www.jubilee-centre.org/comments.xml.php" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" /></channel></rss>
