Paddy Lillis – Usdaw General Secretary responded: “Labour has set out radical plans to give working people a real say in the future of our economy. For those workers impacted by the retail crisis this will be very welcome news. Failing retail businesses have not turned to their staff, involved them in decision making or even treated them with dignity and respect. Perhaps one of the worst examples is BHS.
“Through no fault of their own, 11,000 loyal BHS staff lost their jobs after people at the top of the business seemingly played a wild game of corporate monopoly with their livelihoods. They were put out of work and put into a long period of uncertainty about the future of their pension.
John McDonnell – Shadow Chancellor said: “A new business model is needed. At the heart is our belief that every business should be a partnership between employees and customers, management and shareholders for the long-term success of the enterprise. There is no doubt that when employees have a strong stake in the business they work for it not only advances long-term decision making but also boosts productivity.
Paddy Lillis – Usdaw General Secretary concluded: “Retail workers are crucial in driving the recovery of the sector and there is little doubt that they need to have a greater voice in the workplace. Employers must acknowledge that trade unions and collective bargaining play a pivotal role in this. Trade unions are crucial in opening clear and accessible channels of ‘direct voice’. In reality non-union representation is not sufficient to provide a true worker voice.”
Notes for editors:
Usdaw (Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers) is the UK's fifth biggest and the fastest growing trade union with over 410,000 members. Membership has increased by more than one-third over the last couple of decades. 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