Catherine McKinnell has renewed her support for the campaign to ‘Keep Sunday Special’ at a recent Usdaw lobby of Parliament opposing the Government’s proposal to devolve Sunday trading laws.
The Newcastle North MP heard from Usdaw members – who work in the retail sector – about how extended opening hours in large stores would lead to even more retail staff being pressured to work for longer hours on Sundays, with over 90% of shopworkers opposed to any extension to Sunday trading hours.
The Usdaw lobby follows a Department of Business, Innovation and Skills public consultation, which closed on 16th September, on whether larger stores should be able to open all day on a Sunday.
Ahead of the lobby of Parliament, Catherine had already signed up as a supporter of the Keep Sunday Special campaign, which is made up of a number of organisations including Usdaw and the Church of England.
She commented: ‘Sunday is a special day, often the one day of the week on which families can be together and I think the status quo – which has worked well for over 20 years, and gives everyone a little bit of what they want – should be retained
‘Extending Sunday trading will not mean customers have more money to spend, nor would it create jobs – but I am concerned that it could see the closure of smaller community stores. Crucially, it would also be hugely detrimental to shopworkers and their families who deserve to have some time off on one special day of the week.’
Usdaw General Secretary, John Hannett, said:
‘Usdaw and our members are delighted to have the support of Catherine and many others who value the special nature of Sunday and want to protect it. There is no great desire from shopworkers, customers, retailers or local authorities for these changes and many oppose them. We fear that devolution of Sunday trading is a solution looking for a problem.
‘It is not yet clear whether the Government will seek to introduce legislation, but if they do I hope that they will abide by their promise of a proper consultation and a full Parliamentary process. That would mean publication of the consultation responses and a considered reply from the Government, demonstrating that they have listened, before the introduction of any legislation to change Sunday trading.’