Retail trade union Usdaw is today (14 November) hosting a summit of retail employers and their representative bodies to launch Respect for Shopworkers Week.
The summit – which is looking at the continuing problem of violence, threats, and abuse against shopworkers, along with wider issues related to retail crime – coincides with the release of new statistics that reveal that more than 70% of shopworkers have experienced verbal abuse at work in the past year and 48% have been threatened by customers.
The research also shows that 5% of shopworkers questioned were assaulted – 20% of which did not report the incident – and 45% said they were not confident that reporting abuse, threats, and violence will make a difference.
The summit also sees the union launch a new report that highlights some of the best practices across the retail industry. The ‘Protecting Retail Workers: Sharing Best Practices’ report looks at community engagement, workplace environmental design, physical security, work and reporting procedures, along with supportive managers and employment policies. The full report can be viewed here.
Paddy Lillis, Usdaw General Secretary, said: “A key part of the Usdaw ‘Freedom from Fear’ campaign is working with employers to help make stores safe working environments and protect our members from abuse and attacks. It is shocking that our survey found that over 7 in 10 of retail staff are suffering abuse from customers, with far too many experiencing threats and violence. While a number of recent triggers for abuse, such as face masks and social distancing, no longer apply; the level of issues faced by retail workers is still higher than before the pandemic.
“The retailer’s response to our survey, who employ nearly one million workers, clearly demonstrates the sector’s commitment to tackling abuse of shopworkers and highlights best practice ideas. The aim of this project is to bring the industry together and work collaboratively to tackle violence and abuse. We sincerely hope that all retailers will find this report useful and provide ideas on how to better tackle the issue.
“However, this is not a concern that can be resolved by the retail industry alone. Despite the investment and engagement from so many retailers, violence and abuse have continued to rise. If we are to truly tackle these issues, we must continue to engage with politicians and the police, to press for action on retail crime prevention, detection and access to justice. Today’s summit is another step along our journey to provide ‘Freedom from Fear’ for all retail workers.”
ACS Chief Executive, James Lowman, added: “We strongly support Respect for Shopworkers Week, which highlights the scale of verbal and physical abuse faced by people working in retail. In the convenience sector alone, retailers reported over 800,000 incidents of verbal abuse over the last year, and we believe that is just a fraction of what takes place every day.
“It is crucial that incidents of abuse are reported to the police, as we know that if not dealt with, criminals become more confident and commit more serious crime without fear of reproach.”
