Addressing delegates at the annual conference in Blackpool’s Winter Gardens, Dave McCrossen – Usdaw deputy general secretary said: “It has long been Usdaw's position that stores should not open on Boxing Day. The run up to Christmas is the busiest time in retail. It's an extremely important trading period, providing bumper profits for businesses and ensuring that the nation can celebrate Christmas Day.
“To deliver those profits, retail staff, and those in the supply chain, work tirelessly throughout December. It can be a very stressful time to work right across the retail sector. Peak trading, long hours, and, for those in stores, unacceptable spikes in abuse from customers, who think it is OK to take out their frustrations on shop staff. All of this adds up to an exhausted workforce by the time stores finally close on Christmas Eve.
“Is it too much to ask for our members to have a decent break at Christmas? Shops can open for 150 hours a week in the run-up to Christmas and beyond, and many do, so we think a two-day break for staff is not unreasonable. Our members deserve time to rest and recuperate. To spend time with their family and loved ones and to relax and enjoy the festivities. Instead, for many it is a case of getting home late on Christmas Eve, being shattered on Christmas Day and getting straight back to work on Boxing Day. That's no way to get the most out of your workforce, or to show that they are valued.
“Retailers plan early for Christmas and our National Officers have already begun discussions with employers to ask them to close on Boxing Day. We have to recognise that there is unfortunately no legal requirement for them to close. So, we have to make the case to businesses as to why closing is the right thing to do and we will continue to make that case.
“However, in many of our agreements, while we haven't yet been able to persuade businesses to close, which is always going to be an uphill struggle, we do have agreements in place that make clear that working on the day is entirely voluntary, or at the very least, volunteers in the first instance. We will continue to raise this with employers.”
Notes for editors:
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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