The Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (USDAW) has revealed that over 90% of retail staff have been assaulted, threatened or abused. In light of the figures, USDAW urged shopworkers to ‘report it to sort it.’
The figures were released as part of USDAW’s Freedom From Fear Campaign, a campaign to prevent violence, threats and abuse against workers.
The results were compiled from an annual survey conducted by the union. The results from retail staff participating showed that in the last twelve months 92% have experienced verbal abuse, with 70% having being threatened by a customer. The survey also revealed that 14% were assaulted.
USDAW have urged shop workers to ‘report it to sort it’, after it emerged that one in five victims have never reported an incident to their employer.
The union’s calls were supported by Siân Gwenllian, the Member of the Senedd for Arfon: “Shopworkers are key workers doing their best under extremely difficult circumstances. They have kept us all going during what has been a demanding year for the industry.
“They were, for a lot of people, the only form of communication during the pandemic.
“I would like to thank USDAW for sharing their findings, especially the first hand testimonies of shop workers.
“From smoke grenades being set off in store, workers being threatened with rape, shoplifters threatening colleagues with bottles of alcohol, and racist abuse being hurled at workers, the findings made for difficult reading.
“I’d like to reiterate USDAW’s call for workers to ‘report it to sort it’, but ultimately that responsibility shouldn’t fall on the shoulders of shop workers. Customers should be kind and patient and be respectful at all times.”
