MP Shocked To Hear of Abuse of Chiswick Shopworkers

Ruth Cadbury pays visit to Co-op on the High Road to speak to staff

Ruth Cadbury (left) outside Co-op in Chiswick

Brentford and Isleworth MP Ruth Cadbury has said she was shocked after being told of the abuse and hostility that shopworkers in Chiswick have to deal with.

She had met staff at the Co-op store on the High Road as part of Shopworkers Safety Week which took place earlier this month. She was there with trade union representative from the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (USDAW), the union which organises the week which aims to highlight the aggression that shopworkers across the country face. It is running the ‘freedom from fear’ campaign about the violence retail staff are increasingly having to deal with.

Speaking after this visit Ms Cadbury said, ‘‘It was shocking to hear first-hand about the abuse that our shopworkers face in Chiswick and across Hounslow. I was particularly concerned recently to hear about a shopworker in Isleworth being attacked too.

“Our shopworkers have been working tirelessly throughout this pandemic and they simply do not deserve to face abuse and violence when they work.

“I’m proud to support USDAWs campaign to support and protect our shopworkers and will continue to campaign to ensure they’re safe at work.”

The Co-op store opposite Gunnersbury Station has had issues with anti-social behaviour since it opened. Last year residents of nearby Silver Crescent opposed a licensing application by the Co-op due to a number of incidents involving people they believe had shoplifted alcohol from the store. They contacted Ruth Cadbury who expressed her concern about a lack of security around the supermarket and asked to Co-op to take urgent action.

The Co-op says it has invested £70 million in security and has pledged to invest the same amount over the next three years including technology to keep staff safe such as the latest remote monitored CCTV, body-worn cameras which can send real-time audio and visual footage to its security support centre and, SmartWater fog cannons. It says violence, abuse and anti-social behaviour should not be part of the job, and is calling on Government for greater protection in law for shopworkers .

Body worn cameras being given to Co-op staff

Jo Whitfield, Co-op Retail CEO, said, “Being on the receiving end of sustained, daily verbal abuse has a terrible impact on retail workers’ mental health, not to mention the catastrophic effects that physical violence will have. Everybody understands how challenging 2020 has been but our message remains clear – enough is enough, abuse and violence against shopworkers should not be tolerated in today’s society and we will do everything in our power to ensure the Government puts greater legal protection in place so shopworkers can feel safer when they go into work.”

The Co-op nationally has seen a 36% increase in incidents of anti-social behaviour, verbal abuse and physical assaults during lockdown (January – October 2020) compared to the same period in 2019, with one in four frontline workers subjected to violence, abuse or anti-social behaviour. On average Co-op sees around 730 criminal incidents each day.

Shoppers are appalled with the abuse, with 84% saying it’s unacceptable for shopworkers to put up with any form of violence or abuse and 82% calling for greater sentencing for offenders A third say they’ll make more effort to say “thank you” to shopworkers.

However, new research from Co-op reveals that one in five customers admit to having been aggressive or abusive towards a shopworker over the course of the past eight months – despite the fact that 90% of feel that retail workers have provided an essential service during the Covid pandemic.

People living in Greater London are most likely to have been abusive or aggressive (33% of all who confessed to poor behaviour) followed by those in Scotland (21%) and Wales (19%). Over 70% of those who admitted to having lashed out were aged between 16 and 34 years of age.

Co-op says it is continuing to push the Government to provide greater protection for retail workers by putting longer sentencing for in place offenders.

Alex Norris MP, whose Assaults on Retail Workers Bill is due to get its second hearing in Parliament next year, said, “During the Covid-19 outbreak we have seen an increased prevalence of abuse and violence towards shopworkers, but these unacceptable acts are something that retail employees have to contend with regularly, simply for doing their jobs. I believe if we ask employees to enforce the law, they should be better protected. Covid has stopped my important Bill to protect these workers. But the Government can act anyway and should do.”

Paddy Lillis, USDAW’s General Secretary, said, “In Respect for Shopworkers Week we welcome this Co-op research looking into customer attitudes about abuse of retail workers. USDAW’s surveys consistently find that the vast majority of shoppers rightly value and respect retail staff, who are key workers delivering an essential service. However, three-quarters of retail staff tell us that abuse, threats and assaults have become worse during the pandemic. The public, shopworkers and retail employers are calling on Government to legislate for stiffer penalties for those who assault the shop-workers. We urge Government to now offer more than sympathy and, support the Alex Norris Bill. In the meantime, we ask the public to sign our petition to secure a debate in the House of Commons.”

The petition currently has 85,000 signatures and needs to get to 100,000 to be subject to a debate in parliament.

November 29, 2020