Usdaw has welcomed the government’s response to concerns about violence against shopworkers during the Home Office Questions yesterday.
Speaking in the House of Commons, Amanda Hack MP for North West Leicestershire asked what steps are being taken to help tackle voilence against shop workers.
Responding to the question, Policing Minister Diana Johnson said the government “will not tolerate workers facing abuse and violence simply for doing their job”.
Johnson mentioned the previous government’s failure, claiming it had allowed shop theft to reach “epidemic proportions”.
“We are working hard to tackle this epidemic in every area of our country and through our Crime and Policing Bill, we’ve introduced a new standalone offence of assaults against retail workers,” said Johnson.
“There has been over a number of years a case made for why retail workers should have this specific offence - work with the Co-op, with Usdaw and many others to get that evidence together.”
Paddy Lillis, Usdaw general secretary, thanked Hack for raising the issue of violence and abuse against retail staff in Parliament.
“Usdaw has long campaigned for legislative measures to combat the growing problem of retail crime, theft from shops and the abuse of retail staff. Retail workers are responsible for enforcing various laws around age-restricted sales and it is only right that they have additional protection in law, so we very much welcome the Crime and Policing Bill.
“We now look forward to a much-needed protection of retail workers’ law; ending the indefensible £200 threshold for prosecuting shoplifters, which has effectively become an open invitation to retail criminals; and funding for more uniformed officer patrols in shopping areas, along with Criminal Behaviour Orders. All crucial measures aimed at stemming rising theft from shops, with official figures showing that shoplifting has more than doubled since the pandemic and rose by 20% last year.”
Usdaw said it will continue to engage with the government on the Crime and Policing Bill to ensure it offers the “best possible protection for retail workers”.
The retail trade union raised concerns that the Bill does not cover home delivery drivers, who are required to conduct age verification checks.
“This can be a real flashpoint for abuse, threats and violence and they deserve the same protection that their in-store colleagues will have. Usdaw has worked with the industry to provide evidence of this issue to the Home Office and we will continue to represent our members who are affected,” added Lillis.
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