Delegates were addressed at a fringe meeting in The Winter Gardens by Labour candidates Luciana Berger (Liverpool Wavertree) and Sam Rushworth (Blackpool North) along with John Hannett (Usdaw General Secretary).
 
John Hannett says: “Politics affects the lives of all our members and it's great to see members taking  part in campaigning and the political process and encouraging others to do the same. Many of our members will be actively involved in the crucial campaign work over the next week to secure a much needed Labour victory in the general election.
 
“Our members are clearly telling me that they are worse-off now than they were five years ago, before the last general election. Working people are still suffering and Government claims to have helped the lowest-paid by increasing the income tax threshold are not true, because the lowest-paid were already under the tax threshold and rely on tax credits to provide for their family. Under this Government, Working Tax Credit is worth around £500 a year less because it has been frozen for three years and capped at a 1% increase for two years.
 
“By contrast Labour will protect tax credits that working families rely on so they rise in line with inflation from next year, not cut them as the Tories plan. I have absolute confidence that Ed Miliband as Prime Minister and Labour in Government will make a real difference to the lives of our members.”
 
Notes for editors:
 
Usdaw (Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers) is the UK's fourth biggest and the fastest growing trade union with over 433,000 members. Membership has increased by more than 17% in the last five years and by nearly a third in the last decade. 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: www.usdaw.org.uk/news and you can follow us on Twitter @UsdawUnion