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Key worker list: Usdaw welcomes the inclusion of food and pharmaceutical supply workers and funeral workers

Date: 20 March 2020 Shopworkers trade union Usdaw has welcomed the publication of the key worker list and the inclusion of workers in grocery stores, the retail supply chain including food manufacturing, delivery drivers, those in the pharmaceutical industry and funeral workers as key workers. They will now be able access childcare provisions during the school closures from today.
Government guidance and key worker list: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-maintaining-educational-provision/guidance-for-schools-colleges-and-local-authorities-on-maintaining-educational-provision

Paddy Lillis – Usdaw General Secretary says: “As soon as the Government announced that all schools will be closing from Friday, I wrote to the Government calling for them to protect many retail workers, those in the retail supply chain and those in the pharmaceutical industry, including the supply chain.

“Today’s publication of the key worker list is welcome, allowing the identified workers full access to any skeleton childcare provisions which are put in place.  It is vital that these workers are able to continue delivering crucial services without suffering any financial detriment.

“The guidance says that every child who can be safely cared for at home should be, so we would ask employers to show some flexibility and support our members’ individual circumstances, while maintaining these essential services.

“We now need a substantial package of support for any workers who are laid-off or have to take time off because they are ill or having to self-isolate. The financial support must reflect a worker’s average income, not their contractual pay which may be lower.

“Usdaw members in many sectors are playing an essential role in helping communities to get through the Coronavirus emergency; they deserve our support, respect and appreciation for everything they are doing at this difficult time.”
 
Notes for editors:
 
Usdaw (Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers) is the UK's fifth biggest trade union with over 400,000 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

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