As part of Usdaw's ongoing Freedom From Fear Campaign, I attended the Respect for Shopworkers Week Parliamentary Reception on Monday 13 November 2023 with Paddy Lillis, General Secretary of the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (Usdaw) and spoke to him about the issues faced by shopworkers.

Violent crime and abuse is a very real hazard for retail workers. Every year tens of thousands of retail workers are physically attacked and hundreds of thousands are subject to verbal abuse and intimidation. According to Usdaw's latest survey in 2022, three-quarters of retail workers experienced verbal abuse, half were threatened by a customer and 8% were assaulted. Nearly a third (30%) are considering changing their job and over four in ten (41%) feel anxious about work, all because of high levels of abuse, threats and violence.

Usdaw's Freedom From Fear Campaign is a longstanding campaign aimed at preventing violence, threats and abuse against shopworkers. As part of this campaign, Usdaw holds an annual Respect for Shopworkers Week, which this year takes place from 13-19 November.

During this week, Usdaw members from across the country will be holding events in stores to highlight the abuse, threats and violence that staff experience, especially during the busy Christmas trading period.

The best way to protect retail workers against violence is to prevent incidents from happening in the first place. Through its Freedom From Fear Campaign, Usdaw is working with employers to make working life safer. Employers have a legal duty to protect staff from customer harassment.

You can find out more by visiting: www.usdaw.org.uk/freedomfromfear

I placed a wooden cross in the Constituency Garden of Remembrance in Parliament on behalf of my constituents in Walsall South. On the cross I wrote "We will remember them always"  11 November 2023 commemorates Remembrance Day marking the armistice that ended the First World War. Every year we remember all those who fell in wars and conflicts who gave their lives for our freedom. I laid a wreath at the Walsall Cenotaph during the Remembrance Day service on Sunday 12 November. The Kohima Tribute was recited at the service. 'When You Go Home, Tell Them Of Us And Say, For Your Tomorrow, We Gave Our Today.'It is attributed to John Maxwell Edmonds (1875-1958) and engraved on the Kohima Epitaph on the Memorial of the 2nd British Division in the cemetery of Kohima (North-East India).Following the Service, veterans who attended and marched and other members of the community in Walsall returned to the Town Hall.  

I supported the GMB campaign for Equal Pay for Asda workers on Friday, 3 November, outside the Asda St. Matthews Superstore alongside Tom Warnett, the National GMB Political Officer. Equal pay is a priority for the GMB Union, and it is an issue that I have campaigned on for many years. That's why women workers across the country are organising with GMB and campaigning for pay justice.

ASDA retail workers deserve to be treated fairly. GMB believes that workers in ASDA stores, who are mainly women, do work of equal value to those working in distribution, who are mainly men. But ASDA pays distribution workers up to £3 more an hour than those in store. That cannot be right, and thousands of ASDA workers have submitted legal claims against ASDA demanding equal pay.

If they win, they will get backdated pay as compensation, and ASDA will have to pay their retail workers fairly from that moment on. But we can’t just rely on the courts; ASDA workers need to campaign and keep the pressure on the company to treat them fairly.

Find out more about the campaign by visiting: www.gmb.org.uk/campaigns/equal-pay-asda-pockets-the-difference/

On Friday 3 November, I organised a meeting with Network Rail, West Midlands Trains, and the Office of the Mayor of the West Midlands at Bescot Stadium Station to discuss the issue of disabled access at the Station.  Denise Wetton, Central Route Director at Network Rail, a representative from West Midlands Trains, Mal Drury-Rose, Director of Rail for Transport for West Midlands (TfWM) and Executive Director of the West Midlands Rail Executive (WMRE) were present. Ray Dale, Secretary of Walsall FC Trust, Bob Thomas, Vice Chair of Walsall FC, Helen Thorpe-Wood, Walsall FC Disabled Supporters Officer, and Joanna Sainsbury, a Walsall FC fan who requires a wheelchair to move and travel were also there to make the case for an accessible station.

The representatives of Network Rail and West Midlands Trains heard the concerns that the Station needs a lift.  Joanna Sainsbury who is in a wheelchair was unable to use the Station. She got as far as the steps. This inaccessibility also affects parents with prams. 

I met with Minister Huw Merriman to access funding on 5 July 2023. I followed this up with letters to the relevant authorities and a petition was circulated which I presented in the House of Commons on Tuesday, 24 October. I said:

“This is a petition of the residents of the United Kingdom And there are 474 signatures to the petition in similar terms Who say that Bescot Stadium Station served over 90,000 passengers between 2021 and 2022. and that passengers can only access the platforms via stairs to a footbridge without any accessible route from the platforms to the station car park other than by stairs. The Petitioners say that Perry Barr and Witton Station, on the same line, have been upgraded for the Commonwealth Games making them accessible.
The petitioners therefore request the House of Commons to urge the Government to recognise the need for lifts at Bescot Stadium Station to make it accessible and to work with the appropriate body such as Network Rail.“

The petition has been forwarded to the Department for Transport for their initial consideration. Substantive petitions normally receive a response from the relevant government department, and this should normally be within two months of the petition being presented. 

The meeting was constructive and a potential position for the lifts was identified. I stressed that the funding should be available as soon as possible as members of the public need to access the Station and other facilities in the area and this has been ongoing for some time. A feasibility study will be undertaken, and I hope there will be a report to progress disabled access shortly.

It is vital to ensure that our public transport is accessible to everyone.

My visit to Firsteel on Friday 3 November 2023 started with a meeting as the main picture shows above with L-R  Paul Jones, CEO of the Northern Automotive Alliance, Tony Grimshaw, Company Director of What More UK,  Garry Ireland, Operations Director and Paul Didlick General Manager at Firsteel.I was delighted to visit Firsteel, the Walsall coil metal coating company, on Friday, 3 November, in Walsall to discuss British industry.  Firsteel is situated in Brockhurst Cresent and is dedicated to the manufacture and development of customised pre-finished metal solutions. This specialist business provides both metal and coating expertise for a range of substrates and applications, supported by long-term relationships with the world's leading metal suppliers. The picture on the left shows L-R Paul Didlick, Paul Jones,  Jaden, an apprentice, and Garry Ireland.  One of only two specialist suppliers in the UK, Firsteel process steel and coat it with non-stick paint for the bakeware and automotive industries amongst others. Parent company What More UK acquired the business to strengthen their supply chain and enable them to maintain their proud Made in Britain status. Specialist skills are being passed on to the apprentices, on a programme set up with Walsall College. 2 apprentices are  in place, with more planned. One is the  grandson of a current employee. Apprentices are taking this opportunity to learn a trade.There were wideranging discussions around the future of British industry  and the importance of decarbonisation and digitisation as key priorities for the future. The Northern Automotive Alliance support Firsteel with training to meet supply chain standards required for large companies such as Jaguar Land Rover. The automotive industry is worth £78bn turnover in the UK alone, which makes it key for Firsteel to expand into that industry.200,000 people work directly for the automotive industry in the UK, making it a key part of British manufacturing. With 800,000 working in the wider sector, and automotive adding £16bn to the UK economy (GVA), having a secure supply chain is key to supporting the industry.I was impressed with the facilities and the commitment of the team in my video I said: “I'm here at Firsteel where I'm watching the product being made right in the heart of my constituency. It's really important to protect our British manufacturing industry. I'm here with the Northern Automotive Alliance who are representing the automotive industry. It's great to see manufacturing thriving in Walsall South, and I want to see it continue!”Paul Jones added, “It’s great to be here today with the team at Firsteel. They’ve got a real hidden gem here in terms of their capability making coated strip steel products predominantly for the baking industry, but also for automotive. It’s good to see the investment going on here, and also good to see cross party political engagement. We've had the local MP for Wallsall, Valerie Vaz, here this morning and we've had some really constructive discussions about the way forward.”General Manager Paul Didlick commented, “It’s been great to show off our facilities and capabilities, and also to have meaningful discussions about how we can progress in the future, including investing in our apprentices. Many thanks to our visitors for coming in, and hopefully this is the start of a great relationship!”Firsteel are a specialist supplier of coil coated steel for many different manufacturing uses, founded in 1957. The Firsteel business was a global pioneer in the development of continuously coated ‘non-stick’ products supplied into the bakeware sector. I will be visiting the company again and raising awareness of the excellent work they are doing to secure the future of the company with their apprentices. I want to ensure Firsteel remain as a leading specialist business in the heart of Walsall. What More UK manufactures metal and plastic housewares of all kinds, from around the sink items to garden, garage and officewares. WhatMore is a member of Made in Britain exporting UK branded goods to 76 countries around the world, in addition to every major UK supermarket and another 1600 independent retailers.For more information about WhatMore UK: www.whatmoreuk.comYou can find out more about Firststeel: www.firsteel.co.uk