Fresh call for new law to protect shopworkers
Co-op and other retailers join forces calling for extra protection for shopworkers
Retailers and unions are stepping up a campaign for legislation to protect shopworkers against crime.
A coalition including leading supermarkets and trade have written to the Prime Minister saying that legislation is needed to protect the three million workers in the sector.
The Government has rejected calls for a new law, but the letter warns that shopworkers continue to face violence, abuse and anti-social behaviour.
The Co-op published a new report to back up the call for stiffer penalties for those committing assaults and attacks on shopworkers.
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A coalition which consists of more than 30 major retail businesses, are today (12 May, 2021) urging MPs to avoid shackling over three million shopworkers to a “life sentence” of violence, abuse and anti-social behaviour by encouraging them to back an amendment to a flagship Government crime bill which would offer frontline workers greater protection.
The call for stiffer penalties for those committing assaults and attacks on shopworkers comes as a new report “Breaking the Cycle: Gaining the views of criminal justice practitioners and retail offenders on effective sentencing” is launched. The research – written by Dr Emmeline Taylor and funded through the Co-op’s Safer Colleagues, Safer Communities, campaign – offers a response to the White Paper “A Smarter Approach to Sentencing and the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill”, and provides clear opportunities to encourage Government to legislate to protect and support shopworkers.
Retailers and unions are stepping up a campaign for legislation to protect shopworkers against crime.
A coalition including leading supermarkets and trade have written to the Prime Minister saying that legislation is needed to protect the three million workers in the sector.
The Government has rejected calls for a new law, but the letter warns that shopworkers continue to face violence, abuse and anti-social behaviour.
The Co-op published a new report to back up the call for stiffer penalties for those committing assaults and attacks on shopworkers.
The retail giant revealed that in the first quarter of this year, it has seen almost 400 incidents where weapons have been used against shopworkers, with over half of those involving sharp implements, such as a syringe or a knife or bottle.
RETAIL workers desperately need new laws to protect them from assault and abuse, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been warned by an amalgam of employers and the workers’ trade union.
The workers also face dire problems caused by low pay, insecure employment and the exploitation of young workers.
Retail chains and trade union Usdaw are united in their calls for new laws to protect staff via targeted regulations that apply to front-line workers such as firefighters and ambulance staff. They would include stiffer penalties for assailants and abusers.
The government has so far resolutely rejected calls from retail workers and employers for legislation but has been pressed again in a letter to the PM telling him that the three million workers in the retail sector need the extra protection.