The conference falls at the end of this year’s Respect Week, when Usdaw members are raising awareness of the union’s year-round ‘Freedom from Fear’ campaign and talking to the public to promote a message of ‘respect for retail workers’. Interim results of the union’s survey of over 2,000 retail staff across the UK show that in the last twelve months (change from last year):
• 69% (-2) have experienced verbal abuse.
• 45% (-3) were threatened by a customer.
• 12% (+3) were assaulted.
Joanne Thomas – Usdaw general secretary says: “We welcome Labour’s landmark Crime and Policing Act and the significant efforts of the Government to tackle retail crime. The Act creates a specific offence of assaulting a shop worker, ends the indefensible £200 threshold for prosecuting shop theft, which had effectively become an open invitation to retail criminals, and introduces Criminal Behaviour Orders for retail crime.
“Usdaw research still shows far too many retail workers live in fear of being abused, threatened or assaulted at work and more needs to be done to protect them, which includes the important role of retail home delivery drivers. These workers ensure people who cannot make it into a store are able to access the provisions they need, while keeping our communities safe through, for example, enforcing age-restricted sales provisions.
“It is unacceptable that in Wales, 15% of delivery drivers have been assaulted in the last 12 months and 25% have had to refuse deliveries due to concerns about their own personal safety. In addition to legislating to provide adequate legal protections, it is essential the Labour Government ensures that the police can enforce measures to protect all retail workers.”
Usdaw is calling on the Labour Government to:
Introduce a specific offence of assaulting a retail home delivery driver.
Monitor the effectiveness of new legislation in tackling levels of retail crime in Wales.
Ensure voices representing retail workers are included in discussions on police reform as part of the abolition of the Police and Crime Commissioner role.
Notes for editors:
Usdaw (Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers) is one of the fastest growing unions in the TUC and the UK's fifth biggest with around 370,000 members. Most Usdaw members work in the retail sector, but the union also represents many workers in transport, distribution, food manufacturing, chemical industry and other trades www.usdaw.org.uk
Interim results of the Usdaw’s 2026 survey are based on 2,233 responses from retail workers in face-to-face interviews with Usdaw workplace reps. The final results of the survey will be published early next year.
Usdaw’s Freedom From Fear Campaign seeks to prevent violence, threats and abuse against workers by engaging the public, shop workers and the Government www.usdaw.org.uk/Campaigns/Freedom-From-Fear
For Usdaw press releases visit: www.usdaw.org.uk/news and you can follow us on Bluesky @usdawunion.bsky.social and Twitter/X @UsdawUnion