Northern Ireland shop worker speaks out as new UK survey shows violence against staff doubles in a year

Shop workers say they've experienced assault, and had threats made against them - including to kill.

They are just some of the findings from a report by the USDAW union.

The increase in assaults comes during an epidemic of retail crime with official stats and reports from retailers showing significant increases in theft from shops.

Local shop worker Raymond Neal says it is having a huge impact on the sector:

"We are not too shocked by the findings - maybe the level is - but the situation needs to be dealt with.

"We work with many agencies on this but this is an every-day occurrence.

"It is scary for staff - we are working with the big retailers about upgrading security.

"However things like theft leads to confrontation - 61% of the assaults reported to us is linked to that and 18% of people in Northern Ireland suffered a violent attack.

"This cannot keep going on. "

Raymond says cost-of-living pressures are a big driver.

"Shop workers are front-line workers and providing an essential service - they need to be protected.

"We are already seeing a staffing crisis for retail. A lot of managers are leaving the sector because they are at the forefront of this."

Paddy Lillis – Usdaw General Secretary says: “It is heart-breaking to hear these testimonies from Northern Irish shop workers who deserve far more respect than they receive. Our latest survey results clearly show the scale of the appalling violence, threats and abuse faced by retail staff.

“No-one should feel afraid to go to work, but our evidence shows that too many retail workers are. It is shocking that nearly a fifth of our members working in retail are being assaulted for simply doing their job and serving the community. They provide an essential service and deserve our respect and the protection of the law."

“Our members have reported that they are often faced with hardened career criminals and we know that retail workers are much more likely to be abused by those who are stealing to sell goods on. Our latest survey results show that 7 in 10 retail workers suffered abuse from customers, with far too many experiencing threats and violence. Theft from shops and armed robbery were triggers for 61% of these incidents.

“Violence and abuse is not an acceptable part of the job and much more needs to be done to protect shop workers. The UK Government has repeatedly failed to act in the face of an epidemic of retail crime, rising theft from shops and assaults against retail workers. It is disappointing that they have no measures in their legislative programme to tackle this issue. We support Labour’s attempts to amend the Government’s Criminal Justice Bill, so that the law is strengthened to protect shop workers from violence, threats and abuse.

“A protection of shop workers law is also supported by many retailers. It already exists in Scotland and has secured over 500 convictions. We also need more neighbourhood police with patrols in town centres, respect orders to ban repeat offenders and an end to the £200 threshold for investigating and prosecuting shop theft. Most of all, we ask the public to support our campaign by respecting shop workers.”