Nick Ireland – Usdaw Divisional Officer says: “We welcome that the Welsh Government is legislating for risk assessments to be reviewed and updated regularly, and we urge employers to do that in co-operation with trade union health and safety reps. We also welcome the particular focus on retail and the strengthening of regulations to make stores as safe as possible. Retail staff are working with the public every day and not only suffer increased abuse, but are deeply worried about catching Covid-19.
 
“We are very concerned by reports from our members that too many customers are abusing shopworkers and not following necessary safety measures, like social distancing, wearing a face covering and shopping alone where possible for essential items only. Usdaw is urging the shopping public to strictly follow the rules and respect shopworkers. Supermarket staff have worked throughout the pandemic to keep the country supplied with essentials. These key workers must be valued, respected and protected.”
 
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.
 
For Usdaw press releases visit: http://www.usdaw.org.uk/news and you can follow us on Twitter @UsdawUnion