Usdaw has welcomed the announcement by B&M that they will close their stores on New Year’s Day, and have called on all retailers to consider giving staff a proper break over the festive season.
Shopworkers’ union Usdaw has urged retailers to follow the example of B&M and give staff “the longest possible break over the festive season”.
Discount retailer B&M announced last week that it will not open any stores on New Year’s Day in order to give it’s staff a well-deserved day off after remaining open throughout the COVID-19 pandemic as an essential retailer.
The company announced the news on its Facebook page, saying: “To give our colleagues a well-deserved rest, all B&M stores will be closed on January 1st #NewYearsDay. We hope 2021 is a great year for all of our colleagues, their families and all B&M shoppers. Thank you!”
Now Usdaw (the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers), which represents over 400,000 members across the retail sector and associated industries, has urged other retailers to follow suit and make provision for staff to get a proper break from work over the festive season. This is particularly important in Scotland where the union is campaigning for all stores to close on 1 January. The union’s New Year’s Day petition will be considered by the Scottish Parliament’s Public Petitions Committee on Wednesday 16 December.
Dave Gill, Usdaw National Officer said: “When the country faced a crisis unlike any in our lifetime, shopworkers stepped up and kept essential services running. They continued to work and faced increased levels of violence and abuse, as well as being worried about catching Covid-19.
“So we welcome B&M saying ‘thank you’ to their staff with the closure of stores on New Year’s Day. Key workers have done so much this year and we are asking retailers to give their staff the longest possible break over the festive season. We don’t think that is too much to ask for.”
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