Usdaw hails Morrisons as it announces staff day-off on Boxing Day

UK trade union Usdaw has welcomed Morrisons's decision to grant its 111,000-strong workforce a day-off on Boxing Day this year as a token of gesture for their hard work during the Covid-19 pandemic.

This will be the first time that Britain's fourth-largest supermarket chain will not open its shops on Dec 26.

Welcoming Morrisons’ decision of closing the supermarkets on Boxing Day, Joanne McGuiness, national officer at shop workers' union Usdaw, said that the last year and a half had been an exceptional challenge for staff.

"The pandemic meant shop workers stepped up and kept essential services running," she said. "We welcome Morrisons doing the right thing by their staff with the closure of supermarkets on Boxing Day."

McGuiness added that key workers have done so much this year and “we are asking retailers to give their staff the longest possible break over the festive season to provide them with a well-deserved breather”, reports said.

"We don't think this is too much to ask for," she said.

Other supermarkets such as Asda, Aldi, Lidl and Marks and Spencer gave their staff the same opportunity on Boxing Day last year as a way of signifying their gratitude.

Waitrose, owned by John Lewis, and Aldi have also confirmed that they will be following their usual practice of shutting on the day after Christmas this year as well.

Asda, on the other hand, said that they had not yet released their plans for Christmas yet, reports said, adding that Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Marks & Spencer have not yet commented on the matter.