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New year brings a wealth of challenges
04 January 2008
John Hannett, Usdaw General Secretary
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Retail is one of the most dynamic and important sectors of the economy. Usdaw, the main trade union for shop and distribution workers, had a successful 2007 with a bigger membership increase than for any year since 1990.
A growing number of retailers are seeing staff involvement delivering added value to the business, and many retailers are finding an agreement with Usdaw as the best way to deliver the most effective form of staff consultation and involvement.
Usdaw’s biggest agreement is with Tesco which goes to show that business success and trade union recognition can go hand in hand. Usdaw wants to see the businesses we are involved in to be successful as this is the best way to deliver the best pay and benefits.
One of the low points of 2007 was dealing with the business collapse of Kwik Save. The demise of Kwik Save saw thousands of job losses and hundreds of stores closed. Usdaw spent a lot of time and energy in guiding and advising Kwik Save members through a difficult time.
Kwik Save aside, last year was a very successful one for Usdaw. We won a lot of political support for our Supporting Parents and Carers, Check Out Learning and Respect for Shopworkers campaigns.
Looking ahead I expect the sector to be no less challenging. Analysts expect a tough year especially for the non-food sector, with the ongoing credit squeeze and a dip in consumer demand.
Usdaw has its own challenges to meet. The increase in migrant and agency workers is an area where we will be concentrating our efforts. Agency workers are here to stay and Usdaw will be looking at how we develop our appeal to agency workers.
Usdaw will continue to lobby for young workers aged 18-21 to qualify for the adult rate of the national minimum wage. We believe that a lower rate of pay for 18-21 year olds is not justified and does little to help the retail sector attract the best staff for the future.
Usdaw is a modern trade union committed to working for partnership and fairness in the workplace. I am hopeful that 2008 will see the Union’s membership grow and the number of agreements we have with employers increase. Usdaw’s hope for the future is for a successful retail sector with an influential and expanding trade union.
John Hannett
Usdaw General Secretary
This article first appeared in Retail Week on 4 January 2008.
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