The Welsh Government, business representatives, retailers and Usdaw have been in discussions to provide further clarity on the guidance introduced to minimise the sale of non-essential items during the firebreak. Usdaw divisional officer Nick Ireland said:

“Usdaw welcomes the Welsh Government’s revised guidance. The revised guidance provides greater clarity on the steps retailers can take to implement the rules, the types of products that can be sold and how retailers should manage exceptional requests for items not included on the list.

“We are absolutely clear that it is not the responsibility of shop workers to enforce these revised arrangements and it is the responsibility of the public to follow the rules.

“I urge shoppers not to take their frustrations out on hard working shop workers who have been working throughout this pandemic to ensure the nation’s food and medicine supply is uninterrupted. Please treat shop workers with the respect they deserve.

“I ask all customers to wear a face covering, keep following all social distancing measures, shop alone if possible, only buy essential items and pay by card if you can. By staying at home, restricting journeys and avoiding non-essential in store shopping we can all help to stop the spread of the virus.”

Notes for editors:
 
Usdaw (Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers) is the UK's fifth biggest trade union with over 400,000 members. Membership has increased by more than one-third over the last couple of decades. Most Usdaw members work in the retail sector, but the union also has many members in transport, distribution, food manufacturing, chemicals and other trades.
 
For Usdaw press releases visit: http://www.usdaw.org.uk/news and you can follow us on Twitter @UsdawUnion