* Any views expressed in this opinion piece are those of the author and not of Thomson Reuters Foundation.
We must also look beyond the impact on business and consider the heavy toll the pandemic is having on retail workers, particularly women workers
Shopworkers' leader Paddy Lillis is general secretary of British retail trade union Usdaw
You only have to walk down any high street to see how the retail sector has been impacted by the pandemic, with 20,000 store closures across the UK and 180,000 jobs lost last year. If any other industry faced this level of upheaval, there would quite rightly be a public outcry and government action, but that is not the case with retail.
Shops are a vital part of the economy, employing around three million workers and communities need a successful retail industry. As a society, we have to decide if we want a thriving retail sector at the heart of our towns and cities. If we do, and I think most people would agree, then we need the government to act, to immediately reform business and property taxes to ensure that town centre retail can survive and thrive.
We urgently need a more level playing field between online and bricks-and-mortar retailers, something that the trade union I work for – the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (Usdaw) - and many major retailers, including Tesco, Morrisons and Asda have called on Britain’s chancellor to do in the budget on 3 March.
At the core of this would be a 1% online sales levy that could raise around £1.5 billion and fund a 20% cut in the current outdated and imbalanced commercial property tax.
If anyone ever doubted the impact of online retail on our high street, you only have to see what has happened to Arcadia and Debenhams in just the last fortnight. Major brands divvied up between two online only retailers, Boohoo and Asos. That will result in the closure of their stores, which have been the cornerstones of most town centres for decades.
We must also look beyond the impact on business and consider the heavy toll the pandemic is having on retail workers, particularly women workers. In Arcadia and Debenhams around 80% of the workers impacted are women. They valued these local employment opportunities, often in easily accessible town centres, with sociable hours, customer interaction and flexibility to help meet childcare commitments. Many will find it very difficult to transition to employment in out-of-town online fulfilment centres, that are difficult to get to, with 24/7 shift operations.
We need a recovery plan and an industrial strategy that recognises the contribution of the people who work in the retail sector. There are serious questions and concerns about what retail jobs will look like in the future. For too long the retail sector has become a byword for low pay and insecure hours. This isn’t sustainable and won’t attract or retain talent in the long run.
If we want retail to prosper, we need to make sure that retail jobs are good jobs. We need decent pay. I’m pleased that Usdaw and Morrisons have recently negotiated an increase in the basic pay rate to £10 per hour. We want to see a real living wage being offered right across retail. Workers need guarantees over the working hours they need to support themselves and their families. We also need a commitment to staff training and development, especially in light of automation and new technology, which is changing the retail landscape.
It’s clear that significant challenges lie ahead for the retail sector. Which is why Usdaw is calling for unions, government and retailers to come together to develop a plan for the sector; an industrial strategy for retail that makes practical changes and provides economic reforms, offers decent pay and secure work and delivers for both retailers and retail workers. Not just in terms of the current crisis, but also to help futureproof the sector against new and evolving challenges going forward.
