Usdaw says Blair not Cameron is shopworkers champion

Retail union Usdaw says it is Tony Blair not David Cameron who is making sure Britain’s three million shop staff are being treated with respect and protected from abusive customers.

The leader of the opposition used statistics about levels of abuse suffered by shop staff, gathered as part of the Usdaw’s Freedom From Fear campaign, to make his case for greater civil responsibility in a speech yesterday.

Usdaw says David Cameron has had absolutely no involvement with their campaign and it is Tony Blair who has been an enthusiastic supporter of the Freedom From Fear campaign from day one.

“This is typical bandwagon jumping from a politician who has had no involvement whatsoever in our Freedom From Fear campaign over the last four years,” says Usdaw General Secretary John Hannett. “In contrast the Prime Minister has backed our campaign from day one as have hundreds of Labour MPs who have actually visited local stores to talk to staff finding out what they need to protect themselves from abuse.

“Freedom From Fear has also had massive support from Britain's biggest retailers who have helped drive a campaign that we believe has been instrumental in achieving a decrease in recorded abuse aimed at shopworkers last year.

“But even more significantly this Government has given shopworkers and their employers the tools to defend themselves by introducing acceptable behaviour orders to curb abusive customers and ASBOs to ban violent offenders from stores. David Cameron dismisses ASBOs as a gimmick despite the fact that they do help protect our members and it proves what we’ve always suspected, that he is soft on crime and soft on the causes of crime.

“It’s Labour MPs who have done the hard work talking to shop staff on the frontline and making sure that the Government’s successful respect agenda takes into account the needs of shop staff who are subjected to violent assaults and verbal abuse.

“It is naive of David Cameron to think that individuals can somehow tackle the issue of abuse in stores because our members are saying loud and clear that only by shopworkers, retailers and customers standing together against abuse, armed with tough measures introduced by Labour, can we really tackle this issue.

“This is not about hugging a hoody but making sure that when staff are abused they can protect themselves and we’ve worked closely with Labour MPs who have been standing up for shopworkers for four years not just seeking cheap headlines.

“Usdaw runs evidence based campaigns grounded in the real experiences of our members and it is Labour MPs who talk to our members, listen to our strong case and back us when it matters.”

For more information visit: www.usdaw.org.uk/campaigns/freedom_from_fear/

Notes to Editors:

• Contacts for newsdesks: Usdaw’s Media Officer, Paul Clarke, can be contacted on 0161 249 2469 or e-mail paul.clarke@usdaw.org.uk.
• Usdaw (the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers) is the UK’s fifth biggest trade union, with over 340,000 members. Most Usdaw members work in the retail sector, but the union also has many members in transport, distribution, food manufacturing, chemicals and other trades.
• More information and news releases are available at our online Newsroom.
• Journalists can subscribe to receive Usdaw news releases via our online e-news service.

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© 2003 (USDAW) Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers
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