John Hannett – Usdaw General Secretary says: “It will be no surprise to anyone that the EU referendum result is not the one Usdaw wanted, after the delegates at our annual conference overwhelmingly backed a vote to remain. I am grateful to the many Usdaw reps and members up and down the country who have worked so hard on the referendum and I share their disappointment with the result.
 
“The people have spoken, we must respect the outcome and now come together to get the best deal for the UK. We need reassurances that there will be no dilution of workers’ rights once we lose EU protections. We need to secure the best trade deal possible to help safeguard jobs and make our economy prosper. We need to build good relations with neighbouring countries to ensure continued peace and security.
 
“The result clearly demonstrates that the country is deeply divided and we must work together to heal the rift to overcome the uncertainties we now face.”
 
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.
 
For Usdaw press releases visit: http://www.usdaw.org.uk/news and you can follow us on Twitter @UsdawUnion