Llanelli MP supports Freedom from Fear campaign as survey shows high levels of retail worker abuse

Dame Nia Griffith, MP for Llanelli, joined with staff and campaigners at Tesco in Trostre recently to show support for frontline shopworkers who suffer from unacceptable levels of verbal abuse, threats and assaults. She gave her backing while there to retail trade union Usdaw’s call to raise public awareness of this deplorable behaviour and give workers the confidence to speak out, report abuse and not accept it as part of the job.

Interim results from Usdaw’s annual survey of over 3,000 retail staff show that in the last twelve months:

• 71% have experienced verbal abuse.
• 48% were threatened by a customer.
• 9% were assaulted.

The trade union’s national Respect Week took place earlier this month and was marked in Tesco’s Llanelli store with Dame Nia, Lee Waters MS, Cllr Dot Jones (Chair, Carmarthenshire County Council), Interim Llanelli Town Council Mayor John Prosser and several other County and Town Councillors joining local Usdaw members to raise awareness of the union’s year-round ‘Freedom from Fear’ campaign and talk with the public to promote a message of ‘respect for retail workers’.

Dame Nia Griffith MP said:

“Retail workers are on the frontline of serving our communities and they deserve to be treated with respect. That’s why I passionately support Usdaw’s Freedom from Fear campaign.”

“In the last twelve months, the UK Labour Government has invested in policing, with specific projects to tackle retail crime, and that is now starting to have a positive effect although we know that it will still take some time to turn around 14 years of Tory cuts.”

“Our community policing guarantee includes new powers to ban repeat offenders and our Crime and Policing Bill removes the £200 threshold on dealing with shoplifting as a summary offence to drive up prosecutions and demonstrate shoplifting is being taken seriously. We’re also introducing a new, standalone, offence of assaulting a retail worker, giving workers in shops up and down the country the protection they need.”

Joanne Thomas – Usdaw general secretary says:

“This year’s annual survey interim results show a welcome, but slight, downturn in the level of incidents retail workers are experiencing while doing their jobs. However, it remains shocking that nearly three-quarters of those working in retail are regularly facing abuse from customers, with far too many experiencing threats and violence. The scale of the problem means we also need legislation, so we welcome Labour’s Crime and Policing Bill. It is our hope that this new measure will help continue a downward trend in incidents.

“Usdaw activists will be campaigning in their workplaces and communities, calling on the shopping public to ‘respect shop workers’ and ‘keep your cool’, particularly in the run up to Christmas when the number of incidents increases as shops get busy and customers become frustrated. This is a hugely important issue for our members and they are saying loud and clear that enough is enough.”