In the face of pleas from Usdaw and 88 retailers urging immediate government action, there seems to be a lack of progress.
A collective of prominent voices in the retail industry has endorsed the Government’s recent alterations to the sentencing council guidelines for crimes committed against public service providers. However, they believe that ministers should do more.
Specifically, they propose the establishment of a new statutory offence that covers instances of assaulting, threatening, or verbally abusing retail workers, aligning with the existing Scottish protection of workers act. Furthermore, they demand an improved response from the police, with a focus on prioritizing these offences.
Paddy Lillis, the general secretary of Usdaw, expresses disappointment in the Home Secretary’s attention being directed towards divisive racist rhetoric, seemingly disregarding the significant 25% rise in police-recorded shoplifting. Retail employees, who continuously face abuse, desperately need a government that prioritizes their safety. This is evidently not the case with the current Conservative government.
Lillis adds, “The Tories consistently opposed a dedicated law to safeguard shopworkers from abuse and assault. Today, the Home Secretary proudly boasts of recruiting an additional 20,000 police officers, which only barely makes up for the number of officers previously cut under their failed austerity program.”
He concludes, “Their actions are mere smoke and mirrors, but they won’t deceive our members.”
