Usdaw says Boots staff aren't made for standing

RETAIL union Usdaw is backing staff at Boots who say standing only tills are making their daily jobs uncomfortable and even dangerous to their health. Those concerns expressed by frontline retail staff are backed up by a new TUC report that says workers who stand for most of their working day can suffer a range of problems including poor circulation, foot problems, joint damage, difficulties with pregnancy, swollen feet and legs.

The 'Standing Problem' report estimates more than 2 million sick days are lost to lower limb problems and nearly 200,000 people report health problems caused or made worse by standing too much at work.

Usdaw is backing staff at Boots where traditional checkouts in some stores have been replaced with a standing only alternative that have proved very unpopular.  "After we complained, staff were provided with uncomfortable perch seats but they are pretty pointless," says Usdaw health and safety officer Doug Russell. "The idea of the perch is to ensure staff aren't standing constantly when serving customers, but as there is almost always a queue of customers in a busy chain like Boots then they don't address that key health and safety issue about reducing lower limb related health problems. We believe this is a clear failure to provide suitable seating and is a breach of the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) regulations. We are seeking support from the local health and safety enforcement agencies on the situation in one store in the north west already using the new tills and perch seats."

The TUC report says the problem is as bad today as it was for London shop assistants at the end of the 19th century and Usdaw says the provision of well designed seating is a particular concern for checkout operators who they estimate can lift up to 2 tonnes of goods in an average 4 hour shift.

"It does seem quite wrong that staff today are no better off than they would have been in Victorian England and we don't believe that the efficiency of the average retail store would be compromised by staff having proper seating." Says Doug Russell. "Simple adjustments to the way retail staff are seated could reduce sick days almost overnight and we are happy to work with any company to design out these problems. Better workstation design and good rotation of staff through well planned breaks will reduce the catastrophic number of sick days caused by lower limb problems as well as dramatically increasing the productivity of a workforce working free of unnecessary pain."

WHAT DO DAVID BECKHAM, LENNY HENRY, MEERA SYAL AND ELTON JOHN HAVE IN COMMON?

ALONG with Judy Dench, Tim Henman, Sir Richard Attenborough and Esther Rantzen they're all charity trustees, just some of the 900,000 people running the 190,000 charities in England and Wales. Today the Get on Board campaign, to recruit more charity trustees, is launched by the Charity Commission and national volunteering charity TimeBank. Half of all charities claim to have problems recruiting new trustees, and research shows that currently only 15% of trustees are under 40 years old. This campaign will seek to help charities fill their vacancies, and encourage younger people and those from minority communities to volunteer as trustees.

Lenny Henry, comedian and trustee of Comic Relief, said:- "Being a trustee for Comic Relief has really helped me to understand some of the vital issues that face people both in this country and around the world. I really feel that it has helped to shape my thinking and my actions towards a more positive role in the world community."

Anyone who'd like to know about becoming a charity trustee should go to www.getonboard.org.uk to find out more.