Paddy Lillis – Usdaw General Secretary says: “Usdaw is disappointed that Belfast City Council has voted to extend Sunday trading hours in Belfast, which is a distraction from tackling the real issues that impact the retail sector, and will have a detrimental impact on our members and those retail workers affected by the decision. It is frustrating that the Council did not engage with trade unions before calling the vote, and we continue to urge them to reverse this decision and instead sit down with relevant stakeholders to come up with a plan that will actually support retail in the city.
“Our members remain totally opposed to extending Sunday trading hours. Longer Sunday trading will take a heavy toll on staff who will come under even more pressure to work, when they would rather be spending time with family and engaging in community, sports and leisure activities or attending church.
“Even supporters of extended Sunday opening hours have not been able to show it will lead to economic benefits or job creation. Put simply, opening shops for longer does not mean people have more money to spend. We all want to see a strong and diverse retail sector in Belfast and across the nation, and that means striking the right balance, which we had achieved through existing Sunday trading laws.”
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
For Usdaw press releases visit: www.usdaw.org.uk/news and you can follow us on Bluesky @usdawunion.bsky.social and Twitter/X @UsdawUnion