Over 1,300 delegates, visitors and officials from across the UK will be attending to debate and vote on propositions from lay-member branches and statements from Usdaw’s Executive Council on key issues including:
- Rights at work, pay and conditions of employment.
- Workplace pension schemes.
- The National Living Wage.
- Campaigning against racism and prejudice.
- Health and safety in the workplace
John Hannett – Usdaw General Secretary says: "Our Annual Delegate Meeting is effectively the union’s parliament and provides lay-members with the opportunity to raise their issues of concern and make our policy.
"We have a packed agenda and it is clear that members are very concerned about a Conservative government that has continually hit the lowest paid workers the hardest. Incomes have been under attack with cuts in tax credits and Universal Credit is a ticking time bomb for many working families. Our members are severely impacted by cuts in services they rely on and mounting pressure on the NHS impacts on everyone.
"With a general election looming delegates are rightly worried about the Conservatives being elected back into government and the consequences that will have on rights at work. A particular concern being that a Tory government would seek to water down rights currently protected by the European Union as Britain’s exit is negotiated.
"We look forward to a lively and informed debate on the core issues affecting the lives of working people and their families."
Notes for editors:
Usdaw (Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers) is the UK's fourth biggest trade union with nearly 430,000 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: http://www.usdaw.org.uk/news and you can follow us on Twitter
@UsdawUnion