Bevan Foundation shapes the future of retail work

The Bevan Foundation’s ideas are being turned into action to improve jobs in retail.  

The Bevan Foundation warmly welcomes the new ‘shared strategic vision for the retail sector‘, jointly announced by the Welsh Government, retail sector and trades unions on 16th June. The vision is expected to result in better pay and conditions, greater job security and improved career progression for thousands of workers in retail. The vision is one of the first outputs of the new Retail Forum established earlier this year. 

Our idea of sector forums

The Bevan Foundation has been urging the Welsh Government to establish arrangements for employers, unions and government to work together to make work fairer, especially in retail and hospitality. In its final report on fair work, the Foundation said:

Forums for hospitality and retail should be established … as a matter of urgency.

Our research findings

We are also pleased that the findings from our research on fair work in retail are quoted in the strategic vision, and are shaping its future direction. 

Nisreen Mansour, Policy Officer at the Wales TUC said

“The Bevan Foundation’s research into retail workers’ experiences has been critical to the work of the forum, right from the outset. It provides an impartial account of the reality of retail work, and how far away it is from ‘fair work’ for so many. Research like this will undoubtedly make work better for the tens of thousands of retail workers throughout Wales.”

The full outputs on fair work are available below:

• Fair work: what should be done
• Experiences in retail
• Experiences in social care
• Experiences in hospitality
• Fair work: Key data
• Review of evidence