I saw an tabloid TV article that was quite fair about this situation. It wasn't really just about religion. The creep of seven day, twenty four hour convenience life was a threat to a more community and family oriented society on the island. If you run the ferry, the terminal staff have to work then the cleaning staff, then the shops feel they have to open or "they're losing out" and the remote owners of the businesses use it as an excuse to change the terms and conditions of the poorest workers.
One of the (many) reasons I so detested working in retail was the fact that it is run in a state of constant panic in which any pretence of participation by the staff is just an excuse to get more out of them for less. You're supposed to be protected from having to work on Sunday but you watch a Tesco worker try to claim that right and see how soon their hours are cut down to less than they need.
It's a crap thing, this lack of a rhythm to the week. Every day is the same and you can never escape the noise of pointless activity. As a point of order, I do believe in God but I don't really take the books and commandments as divine word: for the purposes of this subject I'm really making a secular anti-capitalist argument. Good on the protesters, and if it was God's hand, I think it proves his sense of humour more than his rancour.
–Quick sidenote to surfer: "If his majesty sends a ship to the East, does he worry whether the ship's rats are comfortable?" Voltaire.