Frances O'Grady, the general secretary of trade union umbrella body the TUC, said: "It's good news that growth strengthened in the last quarter before the referendum.
John Hannett, general secretary of trade union Usdaw, urged shoppers to respect retail staff, "particularly during the Boxing Day sales, when bargain-hunting can turn into a frenzy".
Len McCluskey, General Secretary of trade union Unite, has described todays findings as "the sale of the century", and accused Mr Osborne of "rewarding the Tory party's friends in the city in a spectacularly lavish style".
Response to the data, the general secretary of trade union umbrella body the TUC, Frances O'Grady, said the government needed to give extra support to workers "living at the sharp end of the labour market".
Safeway is awaiting a crucial report from Patricia Hewitt, Britain's secretary of trade and industry, who is expected to rule soon on whether any of the potential suitors should be referred for further antitrust scrutiny.
"We understand you want to do this because of narcotics," said Manuel A. Roxas II, the country's secretary of trade and industry, "but terrorism is just as important".
The group, called the Infrastructure Forum, which includes GlaxoSmithKline, Prudential and Cadbury Schweppes, as well as the BBC and Inland Revenue, wrote last week to Patricia Hewitt, the secretary of trade, to protest the new structure.
Frances O'Grady, general secretary of trade union umbrella body the TUC, has been talking about pay on the BBC News Channel.
A large meeting of the working classes, attended by several local notables including the general secretaries of several trade unions, was held on 13 November at the Free Trade Hall in Manchester.
Gerry Morrissey, general secretary of technicians' trade union BECTU, said: "When Mark Thompson did the licence fee deal he said the BBC could not continue to do everything.
