SPCK workers’ prayers are answered

Sacked workers at a chain of Christian bookshops have won a substantial payout after taking their employer to an industrial tribunal.

The workers, who are in the Usdaw union, were employed by the SPCK, which was taken over by US St Stephen the Great Charitable Trust in 2006.

The new management tried to force workers to sign worse contracts, and then sacked 32 of them by email after claiming the company was “bankrupt” – even though it continued to operate as a charity.

The union took the company to court and won control of its assets, which it is now using to pay the workers.