Dear Editor

Shopworkers are very concerned about Government plans to devolve Sunday trading hours to councils and the effects that will have on family life, local shops and the community.

The change could lead to large shops opening for longer, even though they are already trading for up to 150 out of 168 hours a week, so shopworkers will have even less time to spend with their families. It won’t help small stores, who are already allowed to open whenever they like, and may put some of them out of business. This is a solution looking for a problem that doesn’t exist. It isn’t even clear who is actually calling for this change, with many retailers opposing it.

The Sunday Trading Act is a great British compromise, which has worked well for over 20 years and gives everyone a little bit of what they want. Retailers can trade, customers can shop, staff can work; whilst Sunday remains a special day, different to other days, and shopworkers can spend some time with their family.

We encourage your readers to let their MP know what they think, so their vote in Parliament reflects local views.

Yours faithfully

John Hannett
General Secretary
Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (Usdaw)

Notes for editors:

Usdaw (Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers) is the UK's fourth biggest and the fastest growing trade union with over 440,000 members. Membership has increased by more than 17% in the last five years and by nearly a third in the last decade. Most Usdaw members work in the retail sector, but the Union also has many members in transport, distribution, food manufacturing, chemicals and other trades.

Usdaw survey of retail staff: http://www.usdaw.org.uk/CMSPages/GetFile.aspx?guid=e401039e-75f9-4675-8216-56fa579b65b0

The BIS Consultation closed on 16 September and applies to England and Wales: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/devolving-sunday-trading-rules

For Usdaw press releases visit: http://www.usdaw.org.uk/news and you can follow us on Twitter @UsdawUnion