The union campaigning for better protection for retail workers says it is fighting to keep them safe from abuse and harassment.
A report provided by the Union of Shop Distributive & Allied Workers states: “In Scotland, thanks to USDAW’s campaign with Scottish Labour, a Protection of Workers Bill has now been passed by the Scottish Parliament which will give retail workers the protection they deserve. USDAW will continue to campaign to ensure that similar provisions are in place to protect retail workers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.”
There's hope for retail workers to feel safe and comfortable in the environment that they have to be in almost every day.
“As well as working with employers, USDAW is working with the government to campaign to change the law for shop workers to protect them from abuse and harassment.”
David Williams, a media officer for Union of Shop Distributive & Allied Workers from Manchester, commented: “USDAW is a trade union so if any of our members that have a complaint would go to their representative for the trade union and we would then advise the company to get better security measures too.
“If a customer has harassed a worker, that is unacceptable and we would hope that the first thing a customer should do is tell their manager. At that point it is the managers responsibility to give the customer some sort of warning which, if they ignore, would lead to a ban. I think the company should keep in relation with the police as often as they can and even have the police come into the store around the time when the harassment happens.”
The trade union has provided a great list of ways to deal with harassment towards retail workers. However, the discomfort of the situation for the worker specifically is far more severe than the business requirements.
“We would ideally like to work closely with the police or security and ensure that CCTV is constantly being watched and working in every store. We’d like police to visit stores as often as possible around the time the abuse happens to protect the workers. It is not fair for any retail workers to have to work and accept that harassment or abuse of any sort is a part of their shift. The trade union is actually fighting to do something about this.”
The report provided by the Union of Shop Distributive & Allied Workers further explains what steps still need to be taken.
It says: “USDAW will continue to work with employers to make sure they have effective procedures in place to protect staff, by doing what they can to prevent incidents and by providing more effective support to workers when they are involved in incidents. Key issues include practical and realistic training for all staff and in particular, giving store managers and their immediate bosses the tools and knowledge so they can intervene when staff need their support."
USDAW added: “The pandemic has greatly increased the pressure on retail workers and left them more exposed to violence and abuse. However, it has also brought home to many the fact that retail workers are key workers who provide an essential service to the community. That public support is more necessary than ever to ensure that they get the protection they deserve.”
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