Almost ½ of shoppers in the North West put off buying ethical products due to being too expensive

ALMOST ½ of shoppers in the North West are put off buying ethical products because they're too expensive, new research has revealed. The survey, commissioned by the Fairtrade Foundation ahead of Fairtrade Fortnight also found that 15.5% of consumers don't buy ethical products because they "don't trust claims" made about ethically sourced products.

The new research has shown that 90.5% of shoppers in the North West think that price is an important factor when considering where to shop. This is followed by the quality of products (87.7%), the location (70.5%) and then the ethical credentials of the store (46.8%).

47.7% of respondents were unaware of exploitation in the food chain. 27.7% of consumers in the North West admit to never thinking about who produces their food and drink. Only 8.6% of the survey admitted to 'always' thinking about who produces their food and drink.

When it comes to the Fairtrade products that we are buying, the top most purchased is; unsurprisingly; bananas with 43.2% of us buying them. 2nd is coffee, at 40.9% and 3rd is tea, at 31.8%. With banana sales in the UK expected to reach 820,000 tonnes, in 2018, (that's over 1,500 Boeing 747's), can more be done to encourage Brits to buy Fairtrade?

The research was released to mark the start of the Fairtrade Fortnight:- "Come On In" campaign, inviting members of the public to:- "come on in" to Fairtrade and experience the world of the people who produce the things we love to eat, drink, and wear.

The campaign will also explore how businesses, farmers, workers and shoppers come together through Fairtrade to break the stranglehold of poverty prices.

Please email via:- News24@SouthportReporter.com and also let us know your thoughts and views on this topic.

Video Viewing Taxi Driver Banned

A Taxi driver who watched videos on his mobile phone while ferrying partially sighted passengers across Liverpool has been taken off the road. Driver Nazeed Hyseni, 34, of Canon Road, Anfield, has had his Hackney Carriage Licence suspended for 28 days by Liverpool City Council after members of the Licensing Committee found that he had failed to ensure the safety of his passengers.

Hyseni picked up a party of 4 outside Lime Street Station, in March 2017. 3 of the party were registered blind, with 1 having a guide dog. The passengers, who are all in their 60's, were travelling to Old Swan.

Committee members heard that during the journey, the fully sighted member of the party became aware that Hyseni had his mobile phone switched on and was watching videos on his lap as he drove.

The passengers claimed that when they urged Hyseni to concentrate on his driving he ignored them. When the party got out of the taxi they told Hyseni that he was not going to be given a tip because they were unhappy with his service, to which he replied:- "It's none of your business."

1 of the passengers immediately complained to the City Council's Licensing Team.

Hyseni was asked to make a statement about the incident. He denied the allegation, claiming he was unaware that his phone was on his lap. He claimed that the passengers were rude to him.

The committee rejected Hyseni's version of events, banning him from working as a taxi driver for 28 days.

Hyseni 1st appealed against the ruling to the City's Magistrates Court. When this was rejected he appealed to the Crown Court, which again rejected his appeal.

Presiding over the appeal, Judge Brian Cummings, QC, said Hyseni should never have appealed the Committee's decision.

Judge Cummings went on to describe Hyseni's conduct as:- 'disgraceful,' before telling him to:- "wake up to his responsibilities as a taxi driver."

The Judge also praised the passengers for their public spirit in complaining which would help protect other passengers from experiencing a similar journey.

As well as being taken off the road, Hyseni was ordered to pay the Council's full legal costs.

Welcoming the decision, Chair of Liverpool City Council's Licensing Committee, Councillor Christine Banks said:- "This was clearly a distressing ordeal for the passengers. Hyseni's actions put their safety and the safety of other road users and pedestrians at risk. As a consequence he has lost his livelihood for 28 days and will be faced with a hefty legal bill."

Cllr Banks added:- "We take incidents such as this extremely seriously and we hope it sends the message that we will not tolerate this sort of behaviour."

Lidl distribution centre staff in Runcorn need Usdaw to get a fairer deal at work

THE Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (Usdaw) are the UK's 5th biggest and the fastest growing Trade Union with over 430,000 members, some of them Lidl staff. On 2 March 2018 they issued a press statement that said:- "We are stepping up our long running campaign for recognition to give the staff a strong voice at work. We are focussing on the Runcorn Lidl distribution centre, next Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, with activists talking to staff as they arrive for their shifts, as part of a nationwide campaign running through the year."

the Union went on to add that:- "When talking to Usdaw Lidl's Distribution Centre, in Runcorn, staff have raised the following key issues of concern about their working conditions:-

► Poor health and safety.

► Unreasonable volume of work and difficult to achieve performance targets.

► Not receiving reasonable notice of rotas.

► Unpaid hours after the shift has finished.

► Discrimination and bullying from managers."

Amanda Bailey-Coll, who is Usdaw Deputy Divisional Officer for the North West added that:- "Usdaw is regularly receiving feedback from Lidl staff who are generally unhappy about their treatment at work and they say morale at the Distribution Centre can be pretty low. Usdaw's campaign is based on the comments and real experiences of Lidl workers. The company now needs to sit down with Usdaw, the independent trade union representing their staff, so we can work to overcome these significant issues. Many Lidl workers are joining Usdaw and we urge others to sign up to the union, so that Usdaw can help get them a better deal and a strong voice at work for when things are going wrong. Lidl is a large provider of jobs in Runcorn, so it is concerning that they are not even prepared to speak to Usdaw. Good industrial relations are important for business and that requires the staff having a voice, through an independent trade union, so that they get a proper say in their working lives. We urge the company to meet with Usdaw with a view to recognising us as the trade union for Lidl staff."

The Union told the media that when the union conducted a survey, staff complained about:-

► "Unreasonable workload to achieve productivity targets."

► "Volume of work is reasonable, but deadlines set are infeasible."

► "Quite often there is not enough staff in, so you end up working on your own."

► "Always pressured to produce more than is capable in a tight time frame."

► "Don't know if my job is secure, as they are changing everything all the time which make it's harder for an employee to hit targets. Certain employees get disciplined, other employees doing the same thing get away with it. Targets are set for some people."

► "If your face doesn't fit it's a hard job."

► "On going back injury, leaving me able to pick in 3 areas rather than the desirable 9."


► "Warehouse is always very cramped. Lots of accidents with pickers as some do not obey or understand the routes and rules of the warehouse. Some trucks travel too fast."

► "I'm in the health and safety committee and things are mentioned that are dangerous and even after a year it's still the same. People get injured due to pick rates being hard to achieve."

► "Lidl have a culture of health and safety is only important after something goes wrong, the training process is a joke at best."

► "My employer cares more about my performance than health and safety."

We would like to hear from any Lidl staff and also Lidl about the issues raised by the Union, within the press release, so if this affects you, please do email our newsroom via:- News24@SouthportReporter.Com.