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Home Office urged by Usdaw to introduce measures to prevent abuse of shopworkers

Date: 08 April 2020 Shopworkers’ trade union leader Paddy Lillis has written to the Home Secretary requesting progress on the Government’s own ‘call for evidence’ on violence and abuse toward shop staff.
The call for evidence was published over a year ago and attracted thousands of responses from shopworkers and retailers calling on the Government to do more to protect retail staff. Despite repeated assurances to former MP David Hanson, Alex Norris MP and Mike Amesbury MP the Government is yet to respond.
 
Paddy Lillis – Usdaw General Secretary says: “We obviously appreciate the difficulties posed by the current crisis and all that the Government is dealing with. However the abuse shopworkers are facing has become more severe during the Coronavirus emergency, as they make heroic efforts to feed our communities while keeping customers and themselves safe.
 
“Now more than ever, our members need to know that their work is appreciated, that the Government is on their side and that abuse is not part of the job. Shopworkers urgently need specific protection from abuse and violence, the current legal framework does not work. Therefore we are seeking to work together to provide our members with the protection they need, but that is not helped by the Government’s delayed response to their own call for evidence.”
 
Notes for editors:
 
Usdaw (Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers) is the UK's fifth biggest trade union with over 400,000 members. Membership has increased by more than one-third over the last couple of decades. Most Usdaw members work in the retail sector, but the union also has many members in transport, distribution, food manufacturing, chemicals and other trades.
 
Usdaw’s response to the Government’s call for evidence: www.usdaw.org.uk/UsdawEvidence
 
Usdaw and retailers jointly wrote to the Home Secretary and other Ministers: www.usdaw.org.uk/RetailViolenceLetter
 
For Usdaw press releases visit: http://www.usdaw.org.uk/news and you can follow us on Twitter @UsdawUnion

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