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Usdaw marks International Workers' Day by renewing their call for a New Deal for Workers

Date: 01 May 2021 Retail trade union Usdaw is marking International Workers’ Day (1 May) by renewing the call for a New Deal for Workers.
Usdaw has also welcomed TUC research, which shows strong public support for improving workers’ rights. The survey of more than 2,500 adults showed:
  • 80% support giving all workers the same set of basic employment rights.
  • 54% back a ban on zero-hours contracts.
  • 70% agree that workers should be given 28 days’ notice of shifts so they can plan their lives and childcare. 
Paddy Lillis – Usdaw General Secretary says: “Millions of low-paid workers have provided essential services to help ensure the country is fed, healthy and safe through the lockdown and will continue to do so. Usdaw members employed in supermarkets across the food and pharmaceutical supply chains and the funeral industry welcomed the key worker status, but that respect and appreciation must not fade into the background when this national crisis passes.
 
“There needs to be lasting and fundamental change to the way society views workers. We need a New Deal for Workers: a minimum wage of at least £10 per hour, an end to insecure employment, respect for shopworkers and action to ensure that retail jobs are no longer underpaid and undervalued. Going to work should mean a decent standard of living for all workers”
 
Usdaw’s New Deal for Workers calls for:
  • £10 minimum wage for all workers, ending rip-off youth rates and providing a living wage.
  • Minimum contract of 16 hours per week, for everyone who wants it, that reflects normal hours worked and a ban on zero-hour contracts.
  • Better sick pay for all workers, from day one, at average earnings.
  • Protection at work – respect for shopworkers, abuse is not a part of the job.
  • A proper social security system, Universal Credit does not provide a safety net.
  • Job security, with day one employment rights for unfair dismissal and redundancy.
  • Fair treatment and equality for all workers, including equal pay.
  • A voice at work, stop rogue employers refusing to engage with trade unions. 
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