Usdaw hails MP for raising Shop Direct closures with the Prime Minister
Retail industry union Usdaw has welcomed an MP’s bid to highlight the plight of Shop Direct workers in her constituency.
Debbie Abrahams, Labour MP for Oldham East and Saddleworth, raised the issue of the closures that could lead to around 2,000 redundancies in today’s Prime Minister’s Questions, and secured a meeting with Business Secretary, the Rt Hon Greg Clark.
Last Wednesday Liverpool-based online retailer Shop Direct stunned its workforce with the announcement that it intends to close three sites in Greater Manchester, which could affect almost 2,000 workers.
The £1.9bn turnover group, which includes the Very.com and Littlewoods.com brands, intends to transfer work from the North West to a new distribution centre in the East Midlands that would create 500 jobs.
This follows a Shop Direct review which concluded that the centres, in Chadderton, Shaw, and Salford, do not meet its “operational ambitions”.
Closure of the sites could start from 2020.
Mike Aylward, Usdaw divisional officer, said this afternoon: “Debbie Abrahams has rightly raised important issues around the effects of the introduction of new technology with the Prime Minister and we hope the Business Secretary will take the matter seriously.
“Our members at Shop Direct are at the forefront of this issue as they face seeing their Greater Manchester workplace (move) to the East Midlands with a net loss of around 1,500 jobs.”
He added: “Usdaw reps and officials are preparing for the start of a statutory period of meaningful consultation with the company where we will interrogate the business case and seek alternatives to their devastating proposals.
“We welcome the assistance of local MPs and councillors, along with the Greater Manchester Mayor.
“We believe there is a role for the Government to intervene and support the staff facing redundancy.”
Derek Harding, the interim group chief executive of Shop Direct, said last week: “These proposals are necessary for our future and to enable us to continue to grow and meet rising customer expectations.
“We are working alongside Usdaw, our recognised trade union, and will listen carefully to what they have to say.
“We’ll also work closely with local authorities and community leaders to make sure this process is carried out as fairly and sensitively as possible for our colleagues.”
Last week Oldham council expressed its shock and disappointment that workers were set to lose their jobs at the centres in Shaw and Chadderton and said its priority now is to support all those affected by the closures.
