USDAW General Secretary, John Hannett said; “Our research has found that at least half a million shopworkers are verbally abused every working day,” says Usdaw General Secretary John Hannett. “Most shoppers would never think of physically assaulting a shopworker, but many seem to think it is alright to scream the most disgusting abuse into the faces of retail workers.”

“Last year verbal abuse of shop staff shot up by an alarming 35% so our members are saying enough is enough and they will no longer tolerate vile abuse as part of their daily working lives.”

“Our simple message is that retail workers are not verbal punchbags for shoppers to take out their frustrations on,” says John Hannett. “They are human beings with feelings too and have a right to work in a non-threatening environment. Shoppers need to remember shopworkers are someone’s mother, sister, father, brother or sister and you wouldn’t abuse your own relatives like this.

“The red card is a reminder to the public that if they feel themselves losing control in a shop to take a step back, think about your actions and understand no situation in a shop, no matter how stressful, gives you the right to verbally abuse a retail worker.”

Notes

Respect for Shopworkers day was on Wednesday July 12th 2006.

 
Usdaw (the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers) is the UK’s fifth biggest trade union, with over 340,000 members. Most Usdaw members work in the retail sector, but the union also has many members in transport, distribution, food manufacturing, chemicals and other trades.