Retail trade union, Usdaw, has slated the UK Tory leader, Kemi Badenoch, for her comments on Times Radio, where she suggested that staff and customers should confront a shoplifter if they were “not too big”.
She said: “I know that there is now a tendency for people not to put themselves in harm’s way, but I also think that sometimes we need to send a message that this is not acceptable.”
Usdaw’s survey of nearly 9,000 UK retail workers found that four in five had been assaulted, threatened or abused, with 68% saying that they had suffered an incident triggered by shop theft or an armed robbery. Four in ten retail workers feel anxious about going to work and a third are considering changing their job.
Voices from the frontline:
These are some of the comments retail workers shared about theft from shops when responding to Usdaw’s survey:
· “Shoplifter threw a lit ciggy in my face. Another threw a can of gravy at me.”
· “Daily, gangs of thieves shouting and swinging bags with stolen goods in them.”
· Assaulted by shoplifters, death threats, threats of violence once I finished work.”
· “Groups of masked kids come into store taking stock and threatening to stab us.”
· “Called a ‘c*nt’, a ‘pr*ck’ and told ‘try and stop me, see what happens’.”
· “Shoplifters have often threatened to wait for me outside the shop when I finish.”
Joanne Thomas – Usdaw general secretary said: “It is only when you listen to retail workers that you get a real insight into their lives on the frontline; their testimonies are chilling. Usdaw and retail employers are absolutely clear that the staff are far more valuable than the stock and our clear advice to retail workers is not to put yourself in danger. So, we utterly condemn the Conservative ‘have a go if you think you’re big enough’ policy.
“That is a totally irresponsible position and perhaps gives us a little insight into the Tory Government’s 14 years of failure on crime and policing. They drastically cut police numbers and effectively decriminalised shoplifting with the ineffective use of Fixed Penalty Notices for thefts valued under £200 [in England]. Tory ministers and MPs repeatedly voted down Labour’s attempts to change the law to protect retail workers; their dither and delay exposed thousands to assault, threats and abuse.
“In stark contrast, we now have Labour’s Crime and Policing Bill, which includes a much-needed protection of shop workers’ law [in England]; ends the indefensible £200 threshold for prosecuting shoplifters [in England abd Wales] and introduces Respect Orders for offenders [in England and Wales]. The Government is determined to drive down retail crime by working in close partnership with the police and the retail sector to take the actions that will make the most difference.”
