Usdaw welcomes an above-inflation increase and progress towards ending rip-off youth rates

Joanne Thomas – Usdaw general secretary says: “Usdaw very much welcomes these significant above-inflation increases for the lowest paid. We are pleased that Labour’s remit for the Low Pay Commission has resulted in progress towards delivering a statutory real Living Wage and ending rip-off youth rates. Labour is also delivering the new deal for workers that Usdaw long campaigned for. 

“The Employment Rights Act is the biggest uplift in workers’ rights in a generation and delivers on many of the campaigns Usdaw has been running over the years. Retail employment is notoriously dogged by precarious employment practices and many retail workers absolutely rely on basic employment rights, particularly with non-unionised employers. So, the Act is very important to staff and crucially helps to protect decent employers from being undercut by the worst who exploit workers.

“Tackling precarious employment is good for the economy, growth and individual workers who should have the decency of a wage that they can live off. Too many of our key workers are in low-paid, insecure work. They deserve more than being applauded in a pandemic; basic employment rights enforceable by law are the least the nation can do for these heroes who do so much for society and our communities. Boris Johnson promised to ‘build back better’ after the pandemic and failed, but Labour is now doing just that.
 
“So ending exploitative zero-hours contracts; the right to a contract that reflects normal hours worked; proper notice of shift changes; Statutory Sick Pay available to all from day one; protecting workers from unfair dismissal, redundancy or fire and rehire; helping parents and carers with their work/life balance; protecting workers from customer harassment, violence, threats and abuse; ensuring minimum wage rates keep pace with the cost of living; and working towards paying the adult rate at 18 are all crucial changes that are now being delivered by this Government.

“We now call on the Government to continue to make progress with ending rip-off youth rates which allow employers to pay young workers less for doing the same job, and to fully deliver on the Plan to Make Work Pay as the Employment Rights Act is implemented.”