The Government has given a touch of attention to some autonomous communities by warning that, during this Easter, they must maintain the business hours that existed before the state of alarm was decreed to avoid supply problems. Some regions wanted to change these hours (in stores that can open, such as supermarket chains), which implies that stores would be closed for up to four days in a row, which could cause problems with supplies.
The Secretary of State for Commerce, Xiana Méndez, sent last week a letter to the councilors of the communities in which she recommends maintaining the regulation of business hours that existed before the entry into force of the State of alarm. The attention call is directed at some regions that had expressed their intention to change these hours, despite the fact that, in principle, the calendar of Sundays and commercial holidays approved for 2020 is maintained at Easter.
This is the case of Castilla y León, which had removed Easter Sunday (but remains open on Thursday and Saturday), and Castilla-La Mancha, which had decided to delete the opening on Holy Thursday and Easter Sunday. Monday is also a holiday in this community, so this would mean closing the stores four days in a row for five possible days.
For the Secretary of State for Commerce, «the exercise of an orderly and planned purchase according to the calendars of each Autonomous Community avoids crowds and confusion, guarantees service and supply, allows cleaning and sanitizing of premises and rest of the workers ».
Operational problems
From Anged, the National Association of Large Distribution Companies, this specific measure in Castilla-La Mancha "has not taken into account the operational problems that it can generate in companies and the inconvenience for consumers." From the employers request to maintain the opening of Thursday 9 and Monday 13, "in accordance with what had been initially agreed in the annual calendar of Sundays and holidays of commercial opening."
"In the state of alarm in which we live, we cannot keep commercial establishments closed for four days (Thursday, Friday, Sunday and Monday) for five possible days," they denounce. They argue that this measure "extraordinarily complicates the supply and logistics chain of stores, which is already being very complex in itself during the state of alarm."
This time restriction supposes, in addition, “an evident prejudice for consumers”, since, they point out, they will have to concentrate their purchases mainly on Saturday, April 11, after two days previously closed and two consecutive days ahead.
Traffic
From Anged recall that, with the current limitations and the preventive security and distancing measures imposed by the health authority, "it is extremely difficult to concentrate consumer traffic for five days in a single day." Most supermarket chains have cut their hours and limited their capacity to prevent infections.
This circumstance of keeping the shop closed for four days at Easter «does not occur in any other Autonomous Community. We reiterate that it is a serious prejudice to citizens when making their purchases, it can generate unnecessary crowds in commercial establishments and supply problems ».
Since the state of alarm was decreed, distribution companies (supermarket and hypermarket chains) have intensified their efforts to guarantee the supply of stores and to increase security. "At the moment it is necessary to offer the greatest possible flexibility to companies and their workers to help them better organize a situation that presents great difficulties," they point out in Anged.
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