During ♥UNIONS week, Usdaw is highlighting our campaigns and successes; working with employers and politicians on solutions to our members’ issues and concerns, including:
- Health and safety matters: Highlighting the positive impact our health and safety reps can have in workplaces with an awareness day on 26 February.
- Me, work and the menopause: Enabling women to feel more comfortable with the symptoms of menopause at work, with a campaign day on 8 March.
- Supporting parents and carers: Neurodiversity is the theme of this year’s spotlight day on 25 June.
- Young workers: Challenging age discrimination and calling for an end to rip-off youth rates, with a campaign week from 24-30 March.
- LGBT+ equality: Tackling discrimination and harassment by standing with our LGBT+ friends, colleagues and members, along with supporting Pride events.
- National retail workers day: On 5 July we’ll be celebrating the crucial role retail workers have in our economy and communities.
Mental health: Supporting members with mental health issues, with the theme of ‘it's good to talk’, with an action day on 10 October. - Wear red day: On 24 October we’ll be joining millions across the UK in taking a stand against racism.
- Freedom from fear: Usdaw’s campaign against abuse of retail staff, with Respect for Shopworkers Week from 10-16 November.
- Employment Rights Bill: Delivering the new deal for workers that Usdaw long campaigned for and Labour is now delivering in Government.
Paddy Lillis – Usdaw General Secretary says: “Usdaw is the campaigning union, improving workers’ lives and delivering for our members. Our reps and activists do a fantastic job organising for fairness at work, promoting equality by tackling discrimination and getting a better deal for our members, along with improving health and safety in their workplaces. The vast majority of our members are key workers who keep the country fed and healthy, but they are too often underpaid, poorly treated and do not receive the respect they deserve.
“This year sees significant steps forward in our major campaigns. Labour’s Employment Rights Bill will help deliver the new deal for workers we have long campaigned for: decent pay, secure employment, respect, equality and action to ensure that key worker jobs are no longer underpaid and undervalued. The Government’s Crime and Policing Bill will introduce a protection of retail workers law, ensure theft from shops is taken seriously, with more uniformed officers patrolling and Respect Orders for persistent offenders.
“In ‘Heart Unions’ week Usdaw, along with the TUC, is celebrating the positive contribution trade union members make to the UK economy and wider society, campaigning for improvements in workers’ lives and highlighting the benefits of trade union membership.”
Notes for editors:
Usdaw (Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers) is one of the fastest growing unions in the TUC and the UK's fifth biggest trade union with around 360,000 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 www.usdaw.org.uk
Heart Unions’ week: 10-16 February 2025 highlights the positive contribution that trade unions make in workplaces and across wider society www.tuc.org.uk/heartunions
Join Usdaw: www.usdaw.org.uk/Join-Us
For Usdaw press releases visit: http://www.usdaw.org.uk/news and you can follow us on BlueSky @usdawunion.bsky.social and Twitter/X @UsdawUnion