Speaking to the Usdaw Annual Delegate Meeting in Blackpool’s Winter Gardens, Dave McCrossen – Usdaw Deputy General Secretary said: “Usdaw has always said that bank holidays are special and we actively campaign to keep them that way. Large shops are required to close on Christmas Day and we call for shops to close on Boxing Day and New Year's Day too. We will continue to take this approach, but also push for a change in the law to restrict opening hours for every bank holiday, in line with the Sunday trading laws.
 
“The push for ever-increasing availability puts retail workers under pressure all year round. A shorter working day on bank holidays is not too much to ask. Knowing that you won't have to get up at the crack of dawn and go to work, knowing you will leave in time to enjoy a Bank Holiday dinner with your family; to meet up with friends or simply to relax at home. This is the very least our members deserve.
 
“Over the years we have seen an erosion in Bank Holiday premiums and alongside that an expectation for retail workers to work unsocial hours on those days. Arranging rotas for Bank Holiday working can be a flashpoint for disagreements between colleagues and managers. A standard approach to Bank Holiday trading would go some way to avoid this confrontation.
 
“Usdaw will continue to push employers for higher pay on bank holidays; call for bank holiday working to be voluntary; seek restricted opening hours and closure on special days. We believe that the Government has a role here too, they should step in and regulate bank holiday trading. Our members work hard, they are essential to their communities and they deserve a break.”
 
Notes for editors:

Usdaw (Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers) is the UK's fifth biggest trade union with over 350,000 members. Most Usdaw members work in the retail sector, but the union also has many members in transport, distribution, food manufacturing, chemical industry and other trades www.usdaw.org.uk

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