Stewart Forrest – Usdaw Divisional Officer for Scotland says: “Both Usdaw and the SRC agree that there is a need for a strategy to save shops in the high street, we would like to see a specific strategy for Scotland. So when both the employers’ and employees’ representatives agree, we expect the government to sit up and listen.
“The retail industry is experiencing turbulent and challenging times. It directly employs over 240,000 in Scotland and around 3 million across the UK, with many more in distribution and manufacturing reliant on thriving high streets in our towns and cities. Contributing 11% of UK economic output, it is clear that the retail crisis has a huge knock on effect, impacting the UK economy and a significant number of workers.
“The scale of store closures we have seen is devastating, not just for the workforce, but also for our communities and town centres. The Government needs to show that it takes retail jobs seriously by listening to and acting on workers’ concerns.”
David Lonsdale – Director of the Scottish Retail Consortium says: “These are testing times for retailers, with conditions the toughest in a decade, with larger stores and retail chains often feeling it the most. A perfect storm of structural, economic and regulatory changes is taking its toll, with countless well-known brands having stumbled or tumbled over the past two years. There is a pressing need for a fresh approach from policymakers and an injection of confidence back into the economy. SRC and Usdaw firmly believe that a more coherent policy approach towards the industry is needed now more than ever.”
Usdaw’s ‘Save Our Shops’ petition: We call on the Government to take urgent action by adopting an industrial strategy for retail and implementing the following comprehensive and co-ordinated policies:
- Review taxation, commercial rents and business rates to ensure a level playing field between ‘bricks and mortar’ retailers and online retailers, providing a new framework that supports local communities and the wider economy.
- A minimum wage of £10 per hour for all workers, secure work and investment in skills and training to provide decent pay and job security for retail workers and drive up productivity.
- Give retail workers a say over the future of retail and the introduction of new technology, with a designated inclusive body that ensures the Government recognises the crucial role retail has in the UK economy.
Save or Shops petition: www.usdaw.org.uk/signsos
Usdaw’s industrial strategy for retail: www.usdaw.org.uk/retailstrategy
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
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