The petition, hosted by the TUC, is available to sign at: usd.aw/union4marks
 
Paddy Lillis - Usdaw General Secretary says: “Now more than ever M&S staff need the support of an independent trade union, as the company goes through a major restructuring that is resulting in significant store closures and job losses. Nobody really knows when this will end, with the company chairman refusing to rule out more store closures at the shareholders’ AGM.
 
“All staff in M&S stores were put under threat of redundancy in November 2016 when the company announced a restructuring that would affect around 100 shops over a five year period. At the time they did not say where the axe will fall and so far we’ve seen three waves of closure announcements, it now appears there are many more to come. This piecemeal approach to reorganising the business is extremely distressing for the staff.
 
“The remark at the AGM only makes matters worse, it is no way to treat staff. Usdaw has thousands of members working for Marks and Spencer and the staff now need, more than ever, the representation and support of an independent trade union; an experienced and knowledgeable trade union interrogating the company's business case for this store reorganisation.
 
“We again urge M&S management to abandon their long-held resistance to allowing Usdaw to represent the staff. It is simply unjust that the company have made the decision not to engage with a trade union. The staff are telling us they want Usdaw to represent them, it should be their choice.”
 
Notes for editors:
 
Usdaw (Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers) is the UK's fifth biggest and the fastest growing trade union with around 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