As we have continually warned, the relaxation of Sunday Trading legislation that has taken place during the Coronavirus crisis could be a gateway to longer-term erosion of the protections to shop workers around our working hours given by the Sunday Trading legislation restricting opening hours of large retailers. Councils have relaxed enforcement, and Morrisons stores have been opening the tills earlier and for a longer period than the current legislation allows for.

As the Times is reporting, the government is now proposing to introduce a 'Great Recovery Bill' in an effort to try to stave off the deep depression the economy is likely to enter into as a result of the crisis that was beginning before, and intensified by, the coronavirus outbreak. According to the Times, this bill is likely to include a year-long suspension of Sunday Trading regulations.

It's increasingly clear that retail workers and the unions need to adopt a fighting strategy to stop further extension of Sunday Trading regulations. It's welcome now that the General Secretary of Usdaw (the main UK retail workers union), Paddy Lillis, has written to Alok Sharma opposing these proposals, dropping the previous approach of "we are not going to pursue this" must change urgently (Quote from pg4 the new issue of Arena, Usdaw's magazine)

The task is to build on this, which could be done by Usdaworganising a online Zoom rally for Usdaw members and supporters from the wider trade union movement and local communities to an initiate a mass campaign against this proposal.