Dear Mr Rudd
The Fair Pay Commission, in all its wisdom, has granted ‘Boxing Day’ as a regular trading day.

So, while these commission people are enjoying their traditional day of rest, thousands of retail staff will be working all because the ‘FPC’ just can’t help but leave well enough alone.

Now I know we have the ‘boxing day sales’ and I have no objections to that as these are very popular, but, to now expect thousands of retail staff to miss out on what has traditionally been a ‘day of rest’, in my view, is simply not fair.

Many traditions like, ‘watching the first ball being bowled’, or, ‘picking on that left over turkey’ have been taken away by people who themselves, won’t miss this tradition.

Then there is the more serious side whereby workers, many ‘P’ platers, will be at risk of being DUI while driving to work through residual alcohol, or, they will simply just have to ‘not celebrate Christmas’ as they normally would have.

Many church Gowers attend services on Boxing Day morning, that’s gone.

I urge you to intervene immediately and have the reniculus situation overturned.

I will be placing this letter on the OLO site for comment.

Why put so much weight on xmas, it's strictly for retail.
Sunday is for churchies.
I don't have a problem with boxing day as a normal day.
This year boxing day is a Saturday.
In this country there is far to much time off as it is.
If you are worried about a hangover, don't drink so much.

as a matter of fact desmond, I'm not worried about a hangover as I will not be working. It is my staff that I worry about, when do they have their family time at Xmas? Xmas has traditionally been a time when people can have 'family time'.

It's easy to see you're not in retail!

As for you and your 'to much time off', boy you are out of touch!

Considering we have shops open until 9Pm weeknights, 5pm saturdays and 6pm sundays, how do you come to that conclustion?

Also, what is wrong with having a long weekend at Xmas and, the shops that wish to be open, can!

Common sence says Friday, Sat and maybe even sunday closed, re-open Monday. But hey, why do the law makers care, they only work a nine to five mon to fri job!

it seems like the end of work choices was all about spin. Just like grocery watch, sorry, strong border control and every other promise. Oh well Mr Howard looks very good compared with his shadow.

Don't worry. What little is left of traditional Australian culture is not worth anything more than a 20 minute episode of The Simpsons.

Just hope that you're still one of the citizens of 'the lucky country' in your own imagination, and call in for a sickie. That's what the normal middle-class Australians do, so just follow their lead, and don't get yourself labelled as underclass or you might enbd up taking sickies for the rest of the year after Christmas without pay.

Let us hope and pray that the don't have a batsman like Duminy in this year's Boxing Day test because all the decent aussie fast bowlers had to take time out to go to work that week.