Abuse and violence against shop workers was highlighted in a Freedom from Fear Campaign at a Llandrindod Wells supermarket
Abuse and violence against shop workers was highlighted in a Freedom from Fear Campaign at a Llandrindod Wells supermarket
Abuse and violence against shop workers was highlighted in a Freedom from Fear Campaign at a Llandrindod Wells supermarket
The Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers campaign seeks to prevent violence, threats and abuse against shop workers.
This year Tesco at Llandrindod Wells took part in the campaign which also highlighted the Think 25 cards, and the difficulty retail workers can have in guessing people’s ages.
Think 25 is a retailing strategy that encourages anyone who is over 18 but looks under 25 to carry acceptable ID (a card bearing the PASS hologram, a photographic driving license or a passport) if they wish to buy alcohol.
Sarah Stokes is the Usdaw learning representative for Tesco and it was the first campaign she has done in store.
Sarah said; “The Freedom from Fear campaign seeks to prevent violence, threats and abuse against retail staff and it has made huge strides over the years.
“In April 2024 the government announced that there would be a new law, making assaulting retail workers a stand- alone offence.
“There is still some way to go as retail workers continue to be impacted by abuse, threats and violence and therefore the campaign must continue.
“We are supporting Labour's community policing guarantee, which would include new powers to ban repeat offenders from town centres.
“This was the first campaign I have done in store and this will continue so to highlight the issues.
“Public reaction was positive with many enjoying guessing the age on the Think 25 cards and interacting with everyone on the campaign and sympathising with the abuse retail staff encounter.”
Llandrindod Wells Mayor Councillor Steve Deeks D'Silva and Police and Community Support Officer Liz Lewis both attended the store on the day to show their support for the campaign.
Usdaw’s 2024 shopworkers survey results showed that violence against shopworkers has nearly doubled since the previous year, with 10% saying they'd been assaulted.
Of those surveyed, 77% experienced verbal abuse and 53% were threatened by a customer. The results also showed that amongst non-white workers, racial harassment was at 48%, and slightly higher towards women at 52%.
Violence and abuse was regularly triggered when abusers were caught shoplifting, often due to the cost of living crisis.
