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Shop Direct update: Usdaw to meet with Oldham’s MPs and council leader

Date: 12 April 2018 Usdaw officials and reps will tomorrow meet with Debbie Abrahams MP, Jim McMahon MP, and Cllr Jean Stretton, leader of Oldham Council, at Oldham Civic Centre to explore what can be done to persuade Shop Direct to keep their fulfilment facilities in the North West.

Yesterday online retailer Shop Direct announced they intend to close its remaining sites in Greater Manchester, impacting close to 2,000 jobs. The company, which owns Very.co.uk and Littlewoods.com, plans to close its sites in Shaw, Little Hulton and Raven from mid-2020 onwards and move operations to a new automated warehouse in the East Midlands. The move has put the jobs of 1,177 Shop Direct employees and 815 agency workers at risk.

Mike Aylward - Usdaw Divisional Officer says: “Our members are understandably upset, angry and frustrated by yesterday’s announcement. We are extremely disappointed that the company has made these plans without first speaking to Usdaw, as the recognised trade union, or local politicians to see what can be done to keep the jobs in the North West.

“We at Usdaw do not regard this as a done deal. We are meeting tomorrow with the local MPs and Oldham Council to see what we can do together to make the company have a rethink. Next Thursday we have convened a summit of all Usdaw reps in Shop Direct to formulate our response to the company’s plans. We will then enter into consultation meetings to interrogate the details of the business case for the closures and challenge the plans for relocation.

“We are also grateful to the Mayor of Greater Manchester for his support and we look forward to him meeting our officials and reps in due course.”

“This is a very difficult and distressing time for staff and we will be doing everything possible to save jobs here in the North West and support our members through this process.”

Notes for editors:

Usdaw (Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers) is the UK's fifth biggest and the fastest growing trade union with over 430,000 members. Membership has increased by more than 28% over the 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