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Arena Magazine 2006 Issue 1 January February |
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Express delivery
With almost five hundred members employed in home shopping company Express Gifts the team of reps have their work cut out keeping on top of their busy workload.
If you ordered anything from a catalogue last Christmas it may well have been picked, packed and dispatched by Usdaw members at Express Gifts in Accrington, Lancashire.
This cavernous site, with miles and miles of computer controlled conveyor belts, doubles its employees for the festive rush. This seasonal high, most marked in the six weeks leading up to Christmas, sees a massive influx of temporary workers.
The company operate ten catalogues offering just about everything under the sun, including personalised gift items, many sourced from around the world.
Heading up the union's work are Mary Stead (secretary), Catherine Hawke (chair) and rep Simon Jeffries who look after members across five North West sites. "We have a good take up with the permanent staff," said Mary. "We've held awareness days, raffles and other promotional activities to raise the union's profile and recruit new members. The seasonal workers often don't work more than six-week stints, so recruiting them is very difficult."
The experienced team cover for each other and communicate regularly with staff. "The annual wage round gives us an ideal opportunity to find out what the workforce want," said Catherine. "We encourage feedback and it keeps everyone in touch."
The reps, part of the wages negotiating team, were instrumental in securing a four per cent pay rise last year. "The activists do a great job," said area organiser Glen Dyson. "It's a tough sector to operate in. The reps sort out any problems on-site. They're a well-trained and self-sufficient team and provide a good service to our members."
Company profile
- Express Gifts is part of Findel PLC which has an annual turnover in excess of £458 million.
- Express Gifts, the home shopping division, has 1.5 million UK customers and accounts for half of the company's turnover.
- The Findel group trades via three divisions; home shopping, education and financial services.
- It operates call centres, catalogues, warehousing, and delivery services across its own divisions and sub-contracts for other leading companies.
- The company reported record sales for the first six months of the financial year of more than £233 million, 22 per cent higher than the comparable period in the previous year.
- More at: www.findel.co.uk
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