Angus Robertson MP, leader of the SNP in Westminster, correctly identified that impact last November and called for “firm proposals for safeguards and guarantees to ensure shop workers are not left worse-off following any changes to Sunday trading”, and that longer Sunday trading “should not be happening on the back of often low paid shop workers in Scotland and throughout the UK.”

John Hannett – Usdaw General Secretary says: “I am concerned that the SNP are now saying they are undecided on this Wednesday’s Sunday trading vote, when they took such a strong position against it before Christmas. They were right then to be concerned about the effects on Scottish shopworkers’ pay, the Government has done nothing to address those concerns, so it is difficult to understand why the SNP should now be undecided.

“Scottish shopworkers would feel betrayed if SNP MPs did anything other than maintain their opposition to the Sunday trading clauses in the Enterprise Bill. It would be an enormous u-turn if they were to now abstain, allowing a Conservative Government to damage the livelihoods of shopworkers across the UK.”

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