Shop Direct (Greater Manchester)

Liz McInnes Excerpts

Tuesday 1st May 2018 Commons Chamber

[Debbie Abrahams (Oldham East and Saddleworth) (Lab)]

Thank you for calling me to speak, Mr Deputy Speaker. It is always a pleasure to see you in the Chair.

I am pleased to have been able to secure this very important debate on a matter that affects so many of my constituents and their families. Working at Shop Direct has been, for many families, a generational thing in that fathers, mothers, sons and daughters are employed across its sites. I am delighted to have here my hon. Friends the Members for Oldham West and Royton (Jim McMahon), for Worsley and Eccles South (Barbara Keeley) and for Heywood and Middleton (Liz McInnes), whose constituents have also been affected by the announcement of the closure of Shop Direct in Manchester.

By way of background, Mr Deputy Speaker—because I can see you are waiting with bated breath to find out more about what has happened—on 11 April, Shop Direct announced its decision to pull out of all its Greater Manchester sites, including Shaw in my constituency, with a total loss of almost 2,000 jobs. The Shop Direct distribution centre in Shaw currently employs 750 Shop Direct employees, with 636 agency employees. In total, the move affects 1,177 permanent staff and 815 agency workers. This has been devastating news for the Shop Direct staff and their families. Although the closure will not take place until 2020, the anticipated redundancies will have a dreadful effect on local communities, including, as I say, Shaw in my constituency.

[Liz McInnes (Heywood and Middleton) (Lab)]

I wonder if my hon. Friend is aware of the ironic fact that on 23 March, just three weeks before it announced the closures, Shop Direct was crowned best employer at the Retail Week awards 2018 for its

“coordinated programme of pioneering initiatives designed to empower colleagues, support new talent and offer opportunities to young people.”

This is a sad indictment of Shop Direct.

[Debbie Abrahams]

Absolutely. The irony is not lost on me, and I will come on to that.

What was so disappointing was the failure of Shop Direct to engage with anyone. As Shop Direct directors revealed on the morning of this announcement, this move has been planned for more than 18 months, and during that time there have been no discussions with staff, USDAW, Oldham Council, my colleagues and me or the Greater Manchester Mayor, Andy Burnham.