Usdaw news and archive

Sainsbury’s urges government to cut business rates to boost jobs

Supermarket chain Sainsbury’s has teamed up with the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (USDAW), which represents 148,000 of its staff, to urge the new government to deliver on its promise to reform business rates. In a statement, Simon Roberts, the boss of Sainsbury’s said the business rates system was "no longer fit for purpose"...

Retail

Union Usdaw criticises government face mask policy

Retail trade union Usdaw said that it is “deeply disappointed” by the Government scrapping important Covid safety legislation for retail in England from July 19, including face mask-wearing and social distancing. The Government states that it “expects and recommends” in shops and crowded places such as public transport for shoppers to wear a...

Retail

Easing of store safety measures ‘too much too soon’, says Usdaw

British retail trade union Usdaw has slammed the government for its plan to lift safety measures in stores as part of the further easing of Covid restrictions this month. It comes after Boris Johnson announced Monday that from July 19 shoppers would no longer be required to wear face coverings or maintain social distancing inside stores and...

RetailFeatured

Usdaw calls for new law to protect retail workers from crime

British retail trade union Usdaw has launched a petition calling on the government to support legislation to help protect retail workers from violence, threats and abuse. The union said it has already provided “significant evidence” to the government about the scale of assaults and abuse retail workers face, which data shows was already rising...

Fashion

House of Fraser to close Wellingborough warehouse

A warehouse that supplies deliveries to House of Fraser stores and its customers is set to close, with about 300 jobs at risk of being lost. The Usdaw union said that the site, run by XPO Logistics, in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, will shut on 10 April. Dave Thom, Usdaw Area Organiser, said in a statement: “There were clearly doubts over...

Design

Usdaw doesnt want trading hours changed

The shopworkers' union Usdaw has written to Business Secretary Vince Cable to seek assurance that the government has no plans to permanently deregulate Sunday trading hours in England and Wales. The move comes following recent speculation that some ministers are lobbying for a permanent deregulation of Sunday trading laws following the temporary...

Design

Retail moves to ensure no staff violence

Shopworkers' union Usdaw has welcomed the latest move by the country's top retailers to ensure the best possible measures are in place to protect shop staff from violence and abuse. The British Retail Consortium has published a new best practice guide for employers, which aims to increase awareness of the impact that violence against staff has...

Design

Usdaw members oppose suspension of Sunday trading laws

Usdaw, the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers, has released survey results that show that more than three quarters of its members oppose the Government’s proposal to suspend Sunday trading laws for eight weeks during the Olympic Games this summer. The Union surveyed over 20,000 members after the Chancellor George Osborne announced...

Fashion

Primark workers uproared by pay freeze

Unionised employees working for value fashion retailer Primark in Northern Ireland have voted for industrial action for a second time over a proposed pay freeze. In January representatives of the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (Usdaw) conducted a ballot which saw 93 per cent of those Primark employees polled vote for a strike,...

Fashion

Shop workers face ongoing consumer absuse

Up to half a million shop workers suffer verbal abuse every day, a report by the retail union Usdaw suggests, according to the BBC. The study found there was a 35% increase last year in swearing, sexist comments and other forms of verbal abuse from "out-of-control" shoppers. The union surveyed 500 workers and some said they suffered depression...