JOIN the Co-operative Party today- Click here !

Tuesday 12 March 2019

End violence against Shop Workers

Every day, more than 250 retail workers face violence, just for doing their jobs. Six of those incidents will involve a knife, and two a gun. A lot of these shops sit in the heart of the community, and these instances impact on the workers and sense of safety in the community.
"Working in the pet industry we have the right to refuse sales to people who we think will not care for the animals correctly, this has led to several examples of threats and abuse.
We also regularly deal with anti-social behaviour from youth who’ve threatened me with knives and thrown things at my head for asking them to leave and stop destroying the shop. I’ve seen colleagues spat at, and abused, and other customers.
For minimum wage, it’s really not acceptable to have to deal with it."
From alcohol and cigarettes to knives and acid, there are now more than 50 types of products that are restricted by law. It’s staff on the shop floor who we expect to enforce those laws, and who all too often pay the price in the form of violence, threats and verbal and physical abuse from customers.
The Co-op movement is working to raise the profile of this issue through our politicians and affiliated trade unions, and co-op businesses are already taking practical action to work with staff and communities.