>>Fighting the thug at the counter - John Hannett, general secretary of shop workers union Usdaw
Usdaw’s Freedom From Fear campaign has brought the problem of violence and abusive behaviour towards retail staff to the attention of the shopping public, employers, police and government.
And it was no wonder that the level of those crimes took the public by surprise. Since 1995 more than 118,000 shopworkers have been attacked, more than 250,000 have been threatened with violence and more than 500,000 have been verbally abused. No other sector would put up with it, so why should staff in the retail sector?
The recorded level of violence is disturbing enough, but many incidents are unreported and many shopworkers believe
they must accept this type of abuse as part of their job. However, it does not come with the job package and never will.
So it was in the light of the statistics and retail employees’ belief that they were trapped in a violent spiral that Usdaw launched its Freedom From Fear campaign in October. The campaign has five aims: to promote awareness; to make the retail workplace safer; to make retail crime a key police performance indicator; to promote Safer Shopping Partnerships and to improve the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme.
Many of the top retailers have signed up to our charter, co-sponsored by the British Retail Consortium. This calls for minimum standards of courtesy to shopworkers to be observed. The list of supporters reads like a Who’s Who of the retail world with Tesco, Sainsbury, The Co-operative Group, Kwik Save, Somerfield, Safeway, Morrisons, Iceland, United Co-op, Littlewoods, TJ Hughes and the Association of Convenience Stores all signatories.
And the campaign doesn’t end there. More than 100,000 shoppers have signed our national petition calling on the government and police to do more to protect retail staff. More than 100 MPs signed an Early Day Motion backing the campaign and calling for government support.
Next week Usdaw will hold the first National Respect Day for Shopworkers, on Wednesday, September 17. This day promises to be the biggest in Usdaw’s history, with more than 100 street stalls in towns and cities across the UK already in place to help promote the campaign and publicise the shopworkers’ vital role in the economy.
It’s also no surprise that Usdaw has recently celebrated a further increase in membership, which has reached more than 325,000. In the past year our members have taken this campaign to their hearts and thousands of new recruits have signed up.
Top employers have offered their support for the Respect Day with the Co-operative Group (and other Co-op societies), Sainsbury, Kwik Save, Somerfield, TJ Hughes and Littlewoods, in particular, playing an active role. Signs encouraging shoppers to show respect and courtesy will be displayed in their stores.
The media are lining up their coverage of and we’re confident of a big publicity profile for September 17. Thousands of our members will be on the streets giving out leaflets, stickers, and badges and collecting signatures for our national petition.
It will be a fun day with a serious message and give shopworkers the chance to remind customers that staff deserve respect and should be able to work without fear of violence or abuse. Customers in shops across the UK have supported our members when they have promoted the campaign in-store.
It’s a win-win situation for staff, customers and employers. A safe working environment is a safe shopping environment, and both will build a successful business.
Employers have a great opportunity to win a lot of respect from their hard-working staff by giving the campaign and the Respect Day their unequivocal support.
Usdaw’s Freedom From Fear campaign has brought the problem of violence and abusive behaviour towards retail staff to the attention of the shopping public, employers, police and government.
And it was no wonder that the level of those crimes took the public by surprise. Since 1995 more than 118,000 shopworkers have been attacked, more than 250,000 have been threatened with violence and more than 500,000 have been verbally abused. No other sector would put up with it, so why should staff in the retail sector?
The recorded level of violence is disturbing enough, but many incidents are unreported and many shopworkers believe
they must accept this type of abuse as part of their job. However, it does not come with the job package and never will.
So it was in the light of the statistics and retail employees’ belief that they were trapped in a violent spiral that Usdaw launched its Freedom From Fear campaign in October. The campaign has five aims: to promote awareness; to make the retail workplace safer; to make retail crime a key police performance indicator; to promote Safer Shopping Partnerships and to improve the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme.
Many of the top retailers have signed up to our charter, co-sponsored by the British Retail Consortium. This calls for minimum standards of courtesy to shopworkers to be observed. The list of supporters reads like a Who’s Who of the retail world with Tesco, Sainsbury, The Co-operative Group, Kwik Save, Somerfield, Safeway, Morrisons, Iceland, United Co-op, Littlewoods, TJ Hughes and the Association of Convenience Stores all signatories.
And the campaign doesn’t end there. More than 100,000 shoppers have signed our national petition calling on the government and police to do more to protect retail staff. More than 100 MPs signed an Early Day Motion backing the campaign and calling for government support.
Next week Usdaw will hold the first National Respect Day for Shopworkers, on Wednesday, September 17. This day promises to be the biggest in Usdaw’s history, with more than 100 street stalls in towns and cities across the UK already in place to help promote the campaign and publicise the shopworkers’ vital role in the economy.
It’s also no surprise that Usdaw has recently celebrated a further increase in membership, which has reached more than 325,000. In the past year our members have taken this campaign to their hearts and thousands of new recruits have signed up.
Top employers have offered their support for the Respect Day with the Co-operative Group (and other Co-op societies), Sainsbury, Kwik Save, Somerfield, TJ Hughes and Littlewoods, in particular, playing an active role. Signs encouraging shoppers to show respect and courtesy will be displayed in their stores.
The media are lining up their coverage of and we’re confident of a big publicity profile for September 17. Thousands of our members will be on the streets giving out leaflets, stickers, and badges and collecting signatures for our national petition.
It will be a fun day with a serious message and give shopworkers the chance to remind customers that staff deserve respect and should be able to work without fear of violence or abuse. Customers in shops across the UK have supported our members when they have promoted the campaign in-store.
It’s a win-win situation for staff, customers and employers. A safe working environment is a safe shopping environment, and both will build a successful business.
Employers have a great opportunity to win a lot of respect from their hard-working staff by giving the campaign and the Respect Day their unequivocal support.
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