Paddy Lillis – Usdaw General Secretary says: “While we appreciate the desire to help the retail sector, this attempt to undo a long-held and respected compromise on Sunday trading is misguided. The last thing the retail industry needs is longer trading hours, there is no economic case for this and it will put extra pressure on the retail workers who have worked so hard throughout this crisis.
“Retailers have mixed views over the benefits of opening longer on Sundays and we have repeatedly demonstrated that it would be bad for business. Opening for longer will increase overheads but not necessarily take any more cash through the tills. The fact is that customers will not have more to spend just because the shops are open for longer.
“Our members in retail are working long hours, in difficult circumstances and under a great deal of pressure, they need a break. It isn’t too much to ask for a shorter day on Sundays. Deregulating trading hours will put more pressure on shopworkers to work longer and cause further problems with finding childcare.
“Usdaw members do not want to see longer Sunday trading hours, especially when shopworkers are under huge pressures because of the crisis. Shopworkers need a break on Sundays, not longer opening hours. We urge the Government to reject extending trading hours and to focus on supporting the retail sector by levelling the playing field on taxation and helping councils turn their town centres into lively and dynamic community hubs.”
Notes for editors:
Usdaw (Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers) is the UK's fifth biggest trade union with over 400,000 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