Northern Ireland shop workers are facing abuse ranging from having potatoes thrown at them to threats of violence, a union says.
The claims emerged as retail trade union Usdaw began a campaign for the law to be changed to better protect staff.
Union leader Paddy Lillis today (Wednesday) launches a parliamentary petition calling for legislation to “protect shop workers from violence threats and abuse”.
He says MPs should press for “stiffer penalties for those who assault workers”.
In a bid to highlight the abuse faced by workers, the union has published the results of a survey.
Comments from Northern Ireland workers include:
*“Customers seem to think they can take their frustration out on staff. Every shift during Covid-19 feels like the run up to Christmas in terms of how busy it has been and the sheer amount of so-called self-isolating customers ignoring government advice/rules to buy non-essential items appears to be a bit of a running joke.”
*“I’ve been verbally abused for refusing to take money out of a customer’s mouth.”
*“A customer threatened to punch me and any customers who were in his way while he walked around the store. Daily verbal abuse from customers who felt they weren’t getting served quick enough or because we were out of stock of items.”
*“Been sworn at, screamed at and had potatoes thrown toward me at the checkout.”
Mr Lillis, the union’s General Secretary, described the experiences of staff as “heart-breaking”.
He added: “Abuse should never be a part of the job and we are appalled that violence, threats and abuse have doubled during this national emergency.
“The safety of our members is absolutely paramount, but they tell us that some of the shopping public are resisting safety measures in stores and can become abusive when asked to queue, maintain social distancing or reminded to wear a face mask. Our message to the public is that there is no excuse for abusing shopworkers, please treat our members with the respect they deserve.
“In light of the unacceptable increase in abuse of shopworkers, there needs to be urgent action to help protect staff and we urge the Government not to dismiss our petition, but listen to the voices of shopworkers and legislate for stiffer penalties for those who assault workers. Retail staff have a crucial role in our communities and that role must be valued and respected, they deserve the protection of the law.”
Usdaw says their survey was based on 4,928 responses from shopworkers across the UK and was conducted between March 14 and April 17, 2020.
They found: 62.28% were verbally abused; 29.07% were threatened; 4.01% assaulted. When extrapolated over circa 3,000,000 retail workers, this amounts to over 3,538 assaults per day, the union says.
Usdaw added that they believe this is an underestimation “because the survey analysis assumes each respondent was only assaulted once and it was conducted in mainly larger trade union organised stores, which tend to be safer than smaller non-unionised workplaces”.
