The conference takes place on Saturday 23 and Sunday 24 March 2019, at Congress House in London. Usdaw has a delegation of young members from across the UK taking part in the conference.
 
Paddy Lillis - Usdaw General Secretary says: “The future of our movement relies on the next generation of union members getting active and engaged, so the TUC young workers conference is an important event on our calendar and we send our fraternal greetings and best wishes to delegates attending this weekend.
 
“Young workers face continuing problems as a result of in-work poverty and this Conservative government is failing to address the issue. The proliferation of poor working practices such as zero and short hours contracts, agency work and bogus self-employment disproportionately affects young workers. Minimum wage age bandings have also entrenched low pay for young people.
 
“Usdaw's evidence as part of the ‘time for better pay’ campaign has found clear links between insecure work and poor mental health. Furthermore, the evidence has shown that compared to other age groups, workers under the age of 25 are 50% more likely to rely on insecure hours for a significant proportion of their income. It is clear that poor employment practices are having a disproportionate impact on the well-being of young workers.
 
“Low pay and insecure contracts, alongside the frequency of store closures and job losses within the retail sector, are a constant source of worry for the UK's three million retail workers. Many young people seek to build a career in retail and we reject the view that retail work is just a 'stop-gap'.
 
“Retail faces particular risks from automation, so we need the government to urgently develop a coherent industrial strategy for the sector. An industrial strategy must address the needs of young people in adapting to automation without assuming workers will automatically have the skills to cope with a digital future.”
 
As part of the ‘time for better pay’ campaign, Usdaw is calling for:

• Young workers to be paid the full adult rate
• At least £10 per hour minimum wage rate
• Tackling zero and short hours contracts with a statutory minimum contract of 16 hours per week, for those who want it, and an employment contract which reflects an individual's normal hours of work.

As part of the ‘save our shops’ campaign, Usdaw is calling for:

• Urgent government action to address the challenges facing retail.
• Investment in skills for retail workers, including union learning and high-quality apprenticeships.
• Reform of tax law to level the playing field between online and bricks-and-mortar retailers.
• Stronger corporate governance rules, to prevent asset-stripping.
• Action to curb excessive CEO pay, to close the gap with the lowest paid workers and ensure that business failure cannot be rewarded with bonuses.
• The legal right to collective consultation on the implementation of new technology in workplaces
• A review of the law on redundancy, to remove the loophole that allows large chains to avoid consulting over small sites
• Alternatives to job losses to be explored, including the option of reducing working hours, while protecting workers' take-home pay.

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 420,000 members. Membership has increased by more than one-third over the last couple of decades. 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