Union concern at increased abuse of shopworkers

Union concern at increased abuse of shopworkers

The retail union Usdaw has expressed concern at a 'huge leap' in abuse of shopworkers. The union was commenting after the British Retail Consortium's (BRC's) annual survey of retail crime found the total number of reported incidents of verbal abuse, threats and violence against shopworkers rose by 83 per cent in 2011, driven by a more than three-fold increase in threats and a five-fold increase in incidents of verbal abuse. Physical assaults continued a downwards trend, however, falling by 62.8 per cent in 2011. The figures do not include incidents related to the August 2011 riots which hit London and other major cities in England. Usdaw general secretary John Hannett commented: 'The huge leap in reported incidents of verbal abuse and threats against shopworkers is extremely worrying and shows why we need to continue to work closely with the BRC, employers, police and other agencies to reduce all incidents of shop crime, create safer workplaces and ensure offenders are brought to justice.' He added: 'While the reduction in the number of assaults and continuing downward trend in the total number of incidents is welcome news, our own survey figures indicate there continues to be a significant problem of under-reporting and that these figures remain the tip of a very large iceberg.' The union said 'swingeing and dangerous cuts' to police budgets should be reverse if the problem of retail crime is to be addressed effectively.

Usdaw news release and Freedom from fear campaign. BRC news release and Retail Crime Survey 2011 [pdf].