Malta’s retailing industry has developed extensively over the past decade or so as significant advances were achieved on various conditions in the name of progress as our lifestyle evolved rapidly to reflect international trends. On a local level, however, certain decisions are somewhat hard to fathom since the logic is not always in parallel with the reasoning as curious facts occur.

Two cases in point, which occurred in the past few days, highlight the inconsistencies in certain decisions and the apparent lack of logic in the way things are executed. The first instance was the GRTU’s contestation to the fact that Lidl intended opening for trading on Good Friday. The second, which concerned yesterday’s celebration of Worker’s Day, saw the Malta Dockers’ Union, which represents port workers, filing a request and obtaining an injunction to disallow Virtu Ferries from operating a voyage with its high speed ferry to Sicily since the cargo exceeded 10 tonnes was booked for 1 May.

Debating the logic behind this the latter case, which saw the port workers union filing an injunction on Friday, it is somewhat difficult to understand the reasoning of certain laws that are applicable in this country. In a nutshell, according to the Malta Dockers’ Union, any cargo exceeding 10 tonnes has to be handled by port workers and it is not possible for this cargo to be loaded or unloaded from a ferry. Moreover, port workers will not work on workers’ day being one of the five days in the year when they are not supposed to work.

However, it seems that cargo weighing in at just less than the designated threshold amount can be freely transported in the harbour area without the supervision of dock workers. Logic would dictate that port workers are required for every cargo shipment to arrive or leave our shores rather than from a certain tonnage upwards. Nevertheless, the injunction, which was upheld by the Courts of Law on the basis of avoiding a precedent, meant that Virtu Ferries potentially lost business since it was prohibited from transporting the cargo. More specifically, the cargo was meant to supply local companies which have responded to the change in lifestyle and adapted accordingly. Thus, while a change in lifestyle necessitates the transportation of cargo on a Sunday, the laws and work practices that prevail seem to refuse to be adjourned to reflect this consumer driven demand.

The second incident mentioned above, concerning the GRTU’s successful prohibition of Lidl opening for business on Good Friday, raised eyebrows due to the volte-face which occurred. Even more interesting, and unusual, was the haste with which government acceded to the Association’s request to issue a legal notice to this effect. Around three years ago, the GRTU had forcefully campaigned to allow shops to open during the holy week citing the general election as a pretext to disruption in business. This time round, the Association sought to preserve the devotion celebrated on that particular day.

Logic would have it that shops are either forced to remain shut or unrestricted and free to open while reason would dictate that a changing trend should be followed and the industry adapts to the prevailing mood. Nevertheless, the collusion between government and the authorities still has to be satisfactorily explained.