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Boohoo again urged to engage with Usdaw after BBC revelations of broken promises on treatment of staff

Date: 06 November 2023 Retail trade union Usdaw is again calling for discussions with online fashion retailer Boohoo about representation of workers to ensure they are fairly treated. Usdaw represents workers at Boohoo’s warehouse and call centre in Burnley along with the head office in Manchester, but the company continues to refuse to recognise the union, leaving staff without a real voice at work.

An investigation by BBC Panorama found that Boohoo has broken promises to make its clothes fairly and allegedly pressured suppliers to drive prices down, according to reports: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m001s74g/panorama-boohoos-broken-promises

Usdaw continues to urge Boohoo to not only clean up their supply chain, but also engage with the union to help repair their reputation and ensure their own staff are treated with fairness and respect. Something they promised to do when in front of the House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee.

Mike Aylward – Usdaw Regional Secretary says: “For some years we have been seeking a dialogue with Boohoo to enable us to represent our members’ concerns. We have been met with a wall of silence and staff have been told in no uncertain terms not to engage with the union.

“Concerns about working conditions are not isolated to the supply chain and Boohoo’s directly employed staff feel like they have no way of raising issues with managers or finding resolutions to problems. That is why they need an independent trade union, to give them a voice at work.

“We have yet again asked Boohoo to take the simple step of sitting down with Usdaw to explore how we can work together. Staff, the local community, councillors, MPs and campaign organisations all want this to happen, to help make Boohoo an ethical trader.

“The company could go a long way towards repairing their damaged reputation by meeting with Usdaw and engaging in a positive relationship. Regrettably we have still received no response; for the sake of their employees we hope that will change.”

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

House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee Report: The cross-party MPs’ report into fashion industry sustainability specifically said: “We recommend that Boohoo engage with Usdaw as a priority and recognise unions for its workers.”
https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201719/cmselect/cmenvaud/1952/1952.pdf

For Usdaw press releases visit: http://www.usdaw.org.uk/news and you can follow us on Twitter @UsdawUnion