yesterday when the grocers withdrew their threat to open illegally this Sunday.

Four MarketPlace Ltd. stores, White & Sons Ltd. in Warwick, and The Supermart Ltd. on Front Street will remain closed, spokesman Mr. Tredick Gorham of The Supermart told The Royal Gazette .

But talks will continue with the Finance Ministry, which had threatened the stores with court injunctions.

"We don't want to break the law, but we do want a clear understanding of what the law is,'' Mr. Gorham said.

"As a result of discussions today with the Ministry of Finance, we've decided to delay our Sunday opening,'' confirmed MarketPlace controller Mr. Scott Carswell.

Also yesterday: Community and Culture Minister the Hon. Wayne Furbert blasted the large stores for threatening to open, accusing them of "greed'' and trying to put "mom and pop'' stores out of business.

Harrington Hundreds owner Mr. Anthony Aguiar conceded that his store has been opening on Sunday without a Holiday Trading Permit. But he said that a permit was "pending''. Mr. Frank Arnold, owner of The Hitching Post and Maximart, refused to say whether he had permits.

The Bermuda Industrial Union called all supermarket workers to a meeting tonight "to receive a report on discussions with management'' regarding Sunday openings.

A MarketPlace butcher said he and other guest workers in his position were told their contracts would not be renewed unless they worked on Sundays.

The current Finance Ministry policy on Sunday openings was clarified. Late last year, the Ministry reduced the size of store area that could open on Sunday with a permit to 4,000 square feet. But a short time later, the size was further restricted to 2,500 square feet.

Mr. Gorham, who has complained that 18 food stores are opening on Sunday in Bermuda, said talks would resume with the Finance Ministry "right away''.

"Our feeling is that it should be an open policy,'' with "some basic control,'' and possibly a Sunday opening fee, he said.

Mr. Furbert, whose Ministry has responsibility for small business, said the stores' threat to open was "totally selfish'', for two reasons.

As the churches had pointed out, "it's traditional that Bermuda close down on Sunday for a day of rest'', Mr. Furbert said.

Secondly, Sundays were the only day "the mom and pop shops really make money'', he said.

"I haven't seen any evidence that these large shops are having a hard time, especially that MarketPlace group,'' Mr. Furbert said. "They're a large chain, and they're opening up to basically stop smaller businesses from getting a piece of the action.'' Government would "fight tooth and nail'' to assure the big stores could not open on Sunday and "go after the throats'' of small stores through "greed'', he said.

"Those fellows made barrels of money over the years. I can't be sympathetic with them.'' Government should "look into'' whether some stores were already opening outside the law, he added.

At Harrington Hundreds, Mr. Aguiar said his store had a permit each year until this year and "we have a permit pending''.

"We are not openly defying the Finance Ministry,'' he said. "What we have is an ongoing dialogue.'' As "the biggest of the little guys'', Harrington Hundreds floor space that was open on Sunday was beneath 4,000 square feet, he said. Asked if it was beneath 2,500 square feet, Mr. Aguiar said: "It depends on how you measure.'' "I feel that I am within the regulations,'' he said. "We've submitted documentation and plans to substantiate that.'' He accused the large stores of bringing the issue to a head. "They don't want to sell on Sunday,'' Mr. Aguiar said. "They want to force Government's hand to make a decision to shut me down.'' BIU president Mr. Ottiwell Simmons MP called on his members to refrain from working or shopping at supermarkets on Sundays.

And he said it was a "double standard'' for stores that opened illegally on Sunday to be fined $130, while in 1992 the courts threatened the BIU with fines of $100,000 a day for an "unlawful strike''.

A butcher for the MarketPlace, who did not want to be identified, said he and 23 other butchers in the chain were first asked whether they wished to voluntarily work on Sundays. But when there were no volunteers, it was made clear to them that if they did not work on Sundays, their work permits would not be renewed and other workers would be brought in, he said.