Usdaw General Secretary Paddy Lillis said: “It’s been 14 years since The Christmas Day and New Year’s Day Trading Act (Scotland) Act gave powers to the Scottish Government to stop the opening of shops on New Year's Day. 

“Following a consultation, the decision not to act on this will be a kick in the teeth for shopworkers who have worked throughout the pandemic, faced unprecedented levels of abuse and now having to deal with significant shortages of both stock and staff.

“Our New Year’s Day survey found that 98 per cent of retails workers wanted stores to be shut on New Year’s Day, three-quarters said they spent too little time with friends and family, and working over New Year affected their ability to enjoy the holidays. 

“The very least that key workers in retail can expect is that the Scottish Government shows their appreciation for the essential work they’ve done through this appalling pandemic by giving them a proper festive break.”

Note for Editors

Usdaw (Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers) is the UK's fifth biggest trade union with over 370,000 members. Most Usdaw members work in the retail sector, but the union also has many members in transport, distribution, food manufacturing, chemical industry and other trades.

The full survey results can be viewed here www.usdaw.org.uk/NYDSurvey

For Usdaw press releases visit: http://www.usdaw.org.uk/news and you can follow us on Twitter @UsdawUnion