Making progress

Usdaw persuaded national government, police, and retail employers to agree on a united front against retail crime, violence and abuse towards staff after it held a summit meeting in March.

Since Usdaw launched its Freedom From Fear campaign in 2003 there has been a decline in reported incidents. However, there were still over 13,000 physical attacks in 2009 and hundreds of thousands of shopworkers face verbal abuse on a regular basis.

The then home office minister Alan Campbell MP was at the summit meeting. “We are fully supportive of the Freedom From Fear campaign,” he said. “We are continuing to work with the police and businesses to increase reporting of retail crime.

Since 1997 more shoplifters are going to jail and there are tough sentencing guidelines in place for those who commit violence against shop staff. Plans to improve community safety and to reduce crime and anti-social behaviour must involve the staff who work in local shops.”

General Secretary John Hannett said: “It was encouraging to see the strong commitment and support from all parties present for Usdaw’s award-winning campaign.

“There are a lot of good things going on in some parts of the country, but there are also major gaps. We need to make sure that stronger relations between shopworkers, employers and neighbourhood police teams are put in place.”

Meanwhile Hugh Henry MSP took the union’s Freedom From Fear campaign to the Scottish Parliament in April. He wants to see vulnerable workers given more protection and see the existing law used to prosecute anyone guilty of retail crime.

Members of the union’s Scottish political committee were in the chamber to support him.