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Arena Magazine 2006 Issue 4 Autumn Arena |
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What a difference a campaign makes!
By John Hannett, General Secretary
Ask yourself this: Would the Government have extended Sunday trading hours if Usdaw hadn’t launched its campaign?
John Hannett and Deputy General Secretary Paddy Lillis were delighted with the campaign's success
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I'm almost certain, faced with pressure from some of the big retailers, that it would have deregulated Sunday hours.
But thanks to the fantastic team effort of members, reps and officials we rightly won the argument and ultimately won the day.
This latest victory shows the power of well-researched, evidence-based facts coupled with common sense arguments. By using these methods, promoted by a wealth of campaign materials, we engaged everyone from our members to Members of Parliament.
We persuaded the shopping public and more than 300 MPs to back our campaign.
Since I was elected general secretary I have made sure that campaigns protecting our members' rights have been at the heart of everything we do. We won protection on Christmas Day trading in England & Wales last year and this Sunday trading victory proves yet again that Usdaw is the campaigning union.
When the deregulators launched their campaign it did look as if they might win the argument but when our own independent survey showed that
95 per cent of our members opposed longer trading hours, when the shopping public signed our petition in their thousands, and when members sent our specially designed postcard to their MPs we turned potential defeat into a stunning victory. We now have a reputation in Whitehall of being a union that deserves to be listened to.
Usdaw is now the best campaigning union in Britain with a record of winning important victories at Westminster. My commitment is to make sure we continue that work giving direct benefits to every member.
Usdaw did 'Save Our Sundays' and it was down to you, so thank you all for your fantastic support and hard work.
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