The motion was part of a composite on public services and was passed by a show of hands, it calls for investment that should include:
- Delivering nationwide initiatives that support the complete rehabilitation of offenders.
- To invest in community led policing initiatives, which recognise the invaluable role that retail workers play in our communities and delivers locally led programmes to guarantee worker safety.
- A properly funded justice system to tackle the backlog and deliver victims of violence and abuse the justice system they deserve.
Speaking to the annual conference in Liverpool,
Dave McCrossen – Usdaw Deputy General Secretary said: “Retail workers, like many other public facing workers, are at risk from violence and abuse in their daily working lives. They are providing a service to our communities, and yet they are not safe within our communities. After a long campaign, Usdaw has now secured legal protections for retail workers, but these protections will be toothless without the will and the resources to guarantee the safety of retail workers.
“When retail workers are attacked, threatened or intimidated at work, far too often they don't report it. They don't report it because they know that reporting doesn't make a difference. They know that community led policing is little more than an empty slogan and they know that the justice system is stretched beyond breaking point.
“Retail workers live in constant fear that their attackers and abusers could be back again tomorrow, or standing outside when they finish their shift, or passing them in the street. And there is nothing they can do about it. The stress and fear that this creates is absolutely horrendous; it destroys people's lives. Yvette Cooper’s speech this morning, promising £360 million for community led policing is a real step forward to ensuring victims of crime get the justice they deserve.”
Notes for editors:
Usdaw (Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers) is the UK's fifth biggest trade union with around 360,000 members. Most Usdaw members work in the retail sector, but the union also has many members in transport, distribution, food manufacturing, chemical industry and other trades.
For Usdaw press releases visit: http://www.usdaw.org.uk/news and you can follow us on Twitter
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