Respect Week November 2008

Hundreds of reps from across the UK made the November Respect Week the most successful on record as they took the union’s message – Keep Your Cool at Christmas – to the nation’s shoppers.

Promotional material including posters, leaflets, festive stress balls and t-shirts made the activists and their stalls instantly recognisable.

General secretary John Hannett led the launch event at Westminster a few days prior to Respect Week which attracted more than 65 MPs, including a number of cabinet members. "The London launch was a massive success," he said. "But our divisional events were just as important as they reach the shopping public - the target of our Keep Your Cool message.

"Our reps have done a fantastic job and used the Freedom From Fear merchandise to maximum effect. We had more orders for campaign materials this year than any other, which goes to show how relevant this campaign is to our members.

"We all know Christmas is a very stressful time for both staff and customers but that's still no excuse for any sort of abuse. That's what this campaign is about and we're determined to protect our members from the small minority of aggressive shoppers who think it is acceptable to swear at and threaten shopworkers.

"We've had a lot of feedback from the divisions and it's clear the campaign is supported by the public. I was also delighted to see many MPs issued statements adding their support."

The Westminster event also included a number of specially-commissioned caricatures of the type of people most likely to abuse shopworkers. These included the grumpy granny, the bolshie businessman, the bad-attitude schoolgirl, the lager lout and the teenage hoodie. "The purpose of these was to highlight the fact that abuse can come from a wide range of customers," added John.

"Yes we know the flashpoints centre around refusing to sell age-restricted goods and apprehending shoplifters, but some verbal abuse, in particular, comes from people who might seem very respectable when in fact they are anything but."

You can still order campaign merchandise from the stationery department at central office.

Visit the gallery for pictures from Respect Week:

www.usdaw.org.uk/gallery/respectweeknov08/

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