Retail trade union Usdaw has shared Scottish shop workers’ harrowing experiences of violence and mistreatment, as it launched shocking statistics showing that 69% of retail staff have suffered verbal abuse.
The stats, which featured in Usdaw’s annual survey, released during this year’s Respect for Shop Workers’ Week (11-17 November), also showed that 45% of shop staff had been threatened by a customer, while 17% had been assaulted.
70% of these incidents were triggered by shoplifting and two-thirds of those were linked to addiction, stated Usdaw, which has interviewed over 4,000 shop workers over the past 12 months.
The group revealed a selection of Scottish voices from the frontline:
Central Scotland:
– “Punched in the shoulder and verbal abuse – being called names and sworn at.”
– “Shouted at for tills not working.”
– “Customer tried to grab my face.”
– “Colleague got stabbed with screwdriver.”
– “I get deliberately misgendered.”
Glasgow:
– “Daily verbal abuse even when asking customers to scan their bags.”
– “Held up at knife point.”
– “Couple stole jars of coffee, asked for them back and they smashed a jar of coffee on my head”
– “Punched on chin and chest.”
Highlands and Islands:
– “Threatened with a bottle after customer stole beer.”
– “Aggression over being asked for ID, unwanted sexual attention.”
– “Customer came behind cash desk and was in my face, telling me she’d be waiting on me.”
Lothian:
– “Racially abusive statements made to me and about me.”
– “Grabbed by the scruff of my work jacket and shook me whilst yelling I had ruined their son’s Christmas because we were out of a specific chocolate”
– “Being called a bitch.”
Mid-Scotland and Fife:
– “Men following to the car”
– “Customers unhappy with self-service. Shouting at me or talking in a bad way.”
– “Customers being volatile when you will not sell them age restricted items due to no ID.”
North East Scotland:
– “Theft and threatening behaviour towards myself or my colleagues is a daily occurrence. Worst I have experienced.”
– “Referred to as a bloody shelf stacker.”
– “Customers shouting at you pushing trollies into you.”
South Scotland:
– “Kick up the bum by customer.”
– “Customers grabbing my waist, pulling my hair, grabbing my shoulder/arms/legs, telling me they stalk me, telling me to meet them after work, making sexual comments toward me.”
West Scotland:
– “Called an f**kng moron because I was pulling a trolley on the shop floor.”
– “Drunk football fans – alcohol purchase rejection – backed against wall poked in the eye – grabbed by others in the group preventing me from alerting security.”
Tony Doonan – Usdaw regional secretary for Scotland said: “Shop workers deserve far more respect than they receive and these experiences from Scottish retail workers make very difficult reading. It is shocking that over two-thirds of our members working in retail are suffering abuse from customers, with far too many experiencing threats and violence. Seven in ten of these incidents were triggered by theft from shops, which is clearly the result of a near doubling in police recorded shoplifting across Scotland since the pandemic. It has become increasingly common for retail stores to be targeted by organised crime gangs stealing to order in the midst of a retail crime epidemic.
“Our survey demonstrates that theft from shops is not a victimless crime, with incidents regularly being a major flashpoint for violence and abuse against shop workers. Having to deal with repeated and persistent theft and even looting can cause issues beyond the incident itself like anxiety, fear and in some cases physical harm to retail workers. Our members are reporting that they are often faced with hardened career criminals in their stores and much of the abuse they suffer is from those who are stealing to sell goods on, often to fund an addiction.
“Violence and abuse is not an acceptable part of the job and much more needs to be done to protect shop workers. We were delighted to have won the campaign for a protection of workers law in the Scottish Parliament, but that is the beginning not the end. We have to ensure that the legislation is central to tackle a growing wave of retail crime and Usdaw looks forward to working with Police Scotland to make that happen.
“This week, 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.”
Usdaw members are raising awareness of the union’s year-round Freedom From Fear Campaign and talking to the public to promote a message of ‘respect for shop workers’.
