An early Christmas present for shopworkers

The campaign to stop big stores opening on Christmas Day in England and Wales took a major step forward in the House of Commons today - to the delight of shopworkers' union Usdaw.

The Christmas Day (Trading) Bill, a Private Member's Bill introduced by Labour MP Kevan Jones (Durham North) passed its second reading - a crucial stage in the legislative process.

Today's news will be greeted with joy by the millions of shopworkers across England and Wales who genuinely fear being forced to work on Christmas Day, instead of being at home with their families where they belong on such a special day in the calendar.

Usdaw, the shopworkers' union, has campaigned for this legislation and is wholeheartedly backing Kevan Jones' Bill. General Secretary Sir Bill Connor, who watched the debate in the House of Commons today, said: "Shopworkers will be delighted at this achievement and will see this as the earliest Christmas present they are ever likely to get."

There was cross-party support for the Bill, with only one MP opposing it. The Bill now moves to the committee stage of the parliamentary process for detailed scrutiny. This means the Bill could become law in time to ban larger stores opening on Christmas Day 2004.

The Christmas Day (Trading) Bill proposes to ban stores with a floorspace in excess of 280 square metres from opening on Christmas Day in England and Wales. Under current legislation, these stores are only banned from opening if Christmas Day is a Sunday.

Several MPs told the Commons debate that they had not realised there was such an anomaly in The Sunday Trading Act 1994, and that this loophole needed to be closed.

Kevan Jones informed MPs today that some large stores had started to test the Christmas Day market in recent years, and there was a "danger of a domino effect" with others following suit in the face of competitive pressures. He added: "Christmas Day should be a unique day - the one day in the year when people can be together with their families."

Sir Bill Connor said: "There is light at the end of the tunnel for our campaign. Shopworkers need the guarantee that this Bill provides in ensuring that they are not forced to work on Christmas Day. On behalf of Usdaw's members, I would like to thank those MPs who showed their support for shopworkers by attending the debate in the Commons today."

Notes to Editors

• Usdaw is the UK's fifth largest trade union, with over 330,000 members.

• Kevan Jones' Bill applies only to England and Wales. A separate Private Member's Bill has been introduced by Karen Whitefield MSP to the Scottish Parliament seeking to ban larger stores in Scotland opening on Christmas Day and New Year's Day .

• There are more than 2.6 million shopworkers in Britain - which is one in 10 of the working population.

• Further background information on Usdaw's Protect Christmas Day campaign is available at the Santa Watch campaign section.

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© 2003 (USDAW) Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers
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