Shop staff are against extended Sunday hours

I WAS astounded to read Philip Davies MP’s assertion (Yorkshire Post, May 19) that Sunday is the most popular working day among shop staff, because the truth is the exact opposite.

The vast majority of Usdaw members don’t want to work Sundays and they are vehemently opposed to any further deregulation of Sunday trading hours, whether imposed nationally or locally.

We surveyed over 10,000 members last month and a massive 91 per cent opposed change, most fearing the impact deregulation would have on their caring commitments and family life in general.

There is also little support from the public for change. Responses to the Government’s recent consultation were overwhelmingly against the idea and a Gfk/NOP poll last year found that 89 per cent of the public opposed relaxation of the Sunday trading laws.

Outside a handful of big retailers, there isn’t even any widespread demand for change in the retail sector as a whole.

Deregulating Sunday shopping would do little to stimulate growth or create jobs but would have a very detrimental impact on the lives of millions of shop workers and their families.

It would also have a knock-on effect for many other workers as Sunday would soon become regarded as a normal working day.