John Hannett is a lifelong trade unionist having been an Usdaw workplace rep, area organiser, national officer, deputy general secretary and retired in 2018 as general secretary after fourteen years at the head of the union. He served on the Trade Union Congress (TUC) General Council and Executive Committee, Low Pay Commission representing employees, the Labour Party’s National Executive Committee and the national committee of the Trade Union and Labour Party Liaison Organisation (TULO), the ACAS Council and as President of UNI Europa Commerce.
 
Paddy Lillis – Usdaw General Secretary says: “John Hannett spent his working life representing Usdaw members and campaigning for improved workers’ rights. His appointment to the House of Lords recognises John’s contribution and gives him a platform to continue to be a strong voice for working people. I congratulate John on his elevation and look forward to working with him on Usdaw’s future parliamentary campaigns.
 
“Our current key priorities are: a new deal for workers to end low-paid and insecure work; strengthen the law to protect shopworkers from violence, threats and abuse; along with promoting policies to create a better work and life balance for parents and carers. John’s depth of knowledge and first-hand experiences of the challenges our members and all workers face, will make him a strong advocate for working people in the House of Lords.”
 
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Usdaw (Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers) is one of the fastest growing unions in the TUC and the UK's fifth biggest trade union with around 360,000 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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