Department of Labour inspectors report they found 22 shops open around New Zealand yesterday, trading in breach of Easter shop trading laws.
Department spokesman Eric Janse van Rensburg said inspectors visited 33 shops, although he would not specify the locations of those retail outlets.
Prosecution "may" be brought against the outlets which were found trading, he said.
"As the Department may be taking action in respect of these retailers, no further comment is available," Mr Janse van Rensburg said yesterday.
He declined to comment on whether department inspectors had visited Otago retail outlets.
Meanwhile, National Distribution Union general secretary Robert Reid said shop trading restrictions existed to ensure workers got time away from commercial interests and over-zealous bosses.
A "bare-minimum" of non-trading days existed to celebrate and encourage family life, community activity and religious observances over narrow commercial interest, he said.
Christmas Day, Good Friday, Easter Sunday and the morning of Anzac Day are the only days each year affected by shop trading restrictions.
"These three and a-half shopping-free-days are the only ones when shop workers know that they will not be under any pressure to work," Mr Reid said in a press release.
Current trading restrictions were not onerous and since 1996 Parliament had rejected eight Bills to get shops open at Easter.
Retail workers overwhelmingly opposed an extension of trading on Good Friday and Easter Sunday, Mr Reid said.
"Constant attempts to bring this issue up is a waste of Parliament's resources, especially when time after time these Bills are rejected," he said.
