John Hannett – Usdaw General Secretary says: “This is a huge victory for shopworkers and all those who value the special nature of Sundays and we are grateful to MPs from all parties who supported our campaign and voted against the Government this evening.
“This is the third occasion in five years that Conservative Ministers have attempted to permanently change Sunday trading regulations and the third time they have been unsuccessful. We hope now the Government will leave this great British compromise alone and focus on providing real support for the retail sector not the unwanted and unnecessary bureaucracy that devolution would have resulted in.
“The current Sunday trading rules are a fair compromise, which has worked well for over 20 years, and gives everyone a little bit of what they want. Retailers can trade, customers can shop, staff can work; whilst Sunday remains a special day, different to other days, and shopworkers can spend some time with their family.”
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 440,000 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.
Usdaw survey of retail staff: http://usd.aw/SundaySurveyReport
For Usdaw press releases visit: http://www.usdaw.org.uk/news and you can follow us on Twitter @UsdawUnion