Across the country, Usdaw reps and activists are campaigning in workplaces for better workplace rights. Usdaw wants the Government to give workers:

• the right to a minimum 16 hours per week contract, if that’s what they want.
• Family and carer-friendly rights at work for all workers from day one of employment.

Paddy Lillis - Usdaw General Secretary says: “Most Usdaw members are juggling their jobs with looking after someone. Usdaw understands this can be hard even at the best of times, so all year round we campaign and negotiate for improved rights at work for parents and carers. Today we are holding our annual spotlight day, focussing on the particular difficulties short hours contracts and unpredictable hours of work pose for working parents and carers.
 
“Rushing out to work, unsure if you can get back to pick up the kids, trying to find time to shop and cook, needing time-off to take a relative to a hospital appointment, worrying what your hours might be tomorrow or next week and if they will fit around family life. It’s no wonder that parents and carers can feel that there aren’t enough hours in the day.
 
“Working very few hours or having insecure hours that chop and change can put parents and carers under particular pressure, because they may not get enough working hours to generate the income they need to live on. Usdaw is campaigning for improvements to employment rights to help, like a minimum 16 hour contract for those who want it and improved family-friendly employment rights from day one.
 
“Our reps and activists bring Usdaw’s campaigns to life, taking them into workplaces to raise awareness of rights and engage with members. I’m extremely grateful for the voluntary work they do and I wish them well with their activities today.”
 
What working parents and carers have told Usdaw…
 
“My hours often change and this makes it difficult for me to be there for my kids when I need to be.”
 
“I’ve reduced my hours at work to make time to care for my dad but this means my pay has gone down too.”
 
“I sometimes feel that I have so much to do I don’t know how I’m going to fit it all in.”
 
Notes for editors:
 
Usdaw (Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers) is the UK's fifth biggest and the fastest growing trade union with over 420,000 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