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Usdaw calls for a New Deal for Workers
It shouldn’t have taken a crisis to recognise the essential role of our key workers, argues PADDY LILLIS #SolidarityWithShopworkers
Usdaw has been urging the government to acknowledge retail workers as a fundamental part of the economy

The coronavirus emergency has brought about a new understanding of the essential role retail workers have in keeping our communities fed, healthy and safe. Usdaw’s consistent calls for shopworkers to be respected and valued are being heard, but that must not fade into the background when this national crisis passes. 

There must be lasting and fundamental changes to the way society views our lowest paid workers. We need a New Deal for the workers employed in our supermarkets, distribution warehouses, food processing sites and home delivery operations. A new deal on pay, a real living wage, an end to insecure employment and action to ensure that retail jobs are no longer underpaid and undervalued.

#SolidarityWithShopworkers is not just a phrase for a crisis and the issues our members face are not new, but amplified in this emergency situation. Their key worker status has brought with it very welcome public applause and government recognition. 

  • A national minimum wage of at least £10 per hour.
  • Minimum guaranteed hours of at least 16 hours per week.  
  • An end to zero-hours contracts.
  • Employment contract to reflect their normal hours of work.
  • Employment rights from day one.  
  • Respect for workers.
  • Statutory sick pay from day one of illness.
  • Universal Credit to be replaced by a social security system that properly supports low-paid workers.
  • Fair treatment and equality for all workers. 
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