Gerrie Messer, Usdaw rep and equality officer, Torbay & South Devon Trades Union Council, Courtlage Walk, Kingsbridge, writes:

Sunday? The seventh day? The holy day? The family day? It’s something different for all of us, but historically it has been a different day.

A day to wake up early, go to church, have Sunday lunch and possibly fall asleep after.

A day to wake up early, rush through breakfast then bundle the family into the car for an action-packed day out.

A day to wake up late, spend time at home, catch up with family and friends.

Whatever your Sundays are for, shopping in big stores and supermarkets doesn’t have to be part of your Sunday.

In the beautiful south west we have an excellent mixture of big stores and smaller outlets – mainly family run – to enjoy. We can shop in supermarkets six and a half days a week. The smaller, independent shops rely on the trade handed to them by restricting the opening hours of bigger stores.

Very few staff want to work on Sundays because they work so much on Saturdays, which is retail’s busiest day. Usdaw’s survey of more than 10,000 retail staff showed that only six per cent wanted to work more on Sundays, while 35 per cent wanted to work less.

Longer opening by large stores will mean staff in ­transport, distribution, manufacturing, cleaning and security will also have to work more at weekends.

I urge retail workers all over the county and further afield to join Usdaw and fight to ‘keep our Sundays special’. Don’t allow decisions made in Westminster to affect our small towns and communities. Fight back, enjoy your high-street experiences without making others work longer hours on Sundays.

Let’s not forget, many people believe the country ends where the A38 starts – let’s prove them wrong. Devon and Cornwall, please write to your MPs and demand they leave Sunday alone.