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Improving productivity in the retail sector needs investment in jobs, not job cuts - says Usdaw

Date: 29 February 2016 Shopworkers’ trade union leader John Hannett has responded to a report by the British Retail Consortium titled Retail 2020: Fewer but better jobs, which suggests that there could be 900,000 fewer jobs in retail by 2025.

John Hannett – Usdaw General Secretary says: “Retail is a challenging environment at the moment, but retailers need to invest in their workforce if they want to retain customers and achieve growth.

“Cutting back on staff numbers to make cost savings is a false economy. Shopworkers are vital in providing positive customer experiences and short-staffing has an adverse impact on customer service levels.

“Productivity improvements in the retail sector are best achieved by ensuring that workers have good quality jobs, with decent pay and a voice in the workplace.

“We are pleased that the BRC has recognised that low pay is an issue in the sector. Usdaw will continue to make the case for a real Living Wage for all workers and to ensure that workers under-25 are not left behind by the government’s ‘National Living Wage'.

“Usdaw is involved in the retail industry Productivity Taskforce which will be making policy recommendations on boosting productivity in the sector.”

Notes for editors:

Usdaw (Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers) is the UK's fourth biggest and the fastest growing trade union with over 440,000 members. Membership has increased by more than 17% in the last five years and by nearly a third in the last decade. Most Usdaw members work in the retail sector, but the Union also has many members in transport, distribution, food manufacturing, chemicals and other trades.

For Usdaw press releases visit: http://www.usdaw.org.uk/news and you can follow us on Twitter @UsdawUnion

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The official website of the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers