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Lorraine Barrett: It is that time of the year again when consumerism goes into overdrive. Following the opening of the St David’s 2 centre last month, Cardiff is now one of the most attractive cities in the UK for a consumer—as well as for visitors and residents, of course—and we can expect to see an increase in the number of shoppers over the coming weeks as shops stay open later, and not only in Cardiff, but across Wales. Shops will be bracing themselves and hoping for a bumper couple of months to lift them out of the difficult economic conditions that have dominated the year so far. While the shopping spree can be exciting or depressing—depending on which way you look at it—there is another side to the Christmas, or winterlude, shopping chaos that largely goes unnoticed, and I think that it deserves far greater attention. I am talking about the abuse that shop workers suffer.

 

We have grown accustomed to calls being made to respect workers from varying professions—from football referees to the staff who work on trains. These campaigns have had a tangible effect on the how staff are treated, and they are testament to how prevention through education can be an effective way of tackling anti-social behaviour. USDAW—the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers—launched its Freedom from Fear campaign in 2002, and it has led the way in seeking to protect shop workers across the country. In a report released in 2007, it published statistics that demonstrate the verbal and physical abuse suffered by shop workers who are often left to bear the brunt of customers’ dissatisfaction. I will not read all the statistics out, but I feel that a few merit being highlighted and analysed. First, 47 per cent of shop workers claimed to have been physically assaulted in 2006. This form of abuse does not take the form of a passing swear-word or sexist or racist language, lamentable though such behaviour is; it can leave a worker in pain as a result of the actions of someone they are trying to serve. Incidents of physical abuse include a cashier being stabbed and a customer who was HIV positive biting a shop worker. While these are extreme cases, it is shocking that shop workers have to suffer such abuse at all. Shoplifters are the main perpetrators of acts of physical abuse, and the view that shoplifting is a petty, victimless crime is clearly a misconception. It is the role of politicians and the police to ensure that there is enough of a deterrent so as to prevent potential shoplifters from stealing and placing shop workers in danger.

 

Far more prevalent than reported cases of physical abuse were those of verbal abuse. While physical abuse was carried out in the majority of cases by young people, there is no section of the population that is primarily responsible for verbal abuse towards shop workers. Verbal abuse is as likely to come from the elderly lady who is upset at the length of time she has been made to wait at a checkout as it is from a young man who is refused a sale on the basis of not having identification. Customers often use shop workers as a target at which to vent their frustration at company policy or if a desired product is unavailable. As with physical abuse, verbal abuse should not be tolerated.

 

The effects of any form of abuse in the workplace can be extremely damaging to the individual concerned. USDAW claims that over a third of its members reported that workers complained often or very often about ill health caused by their fear of violence and abuse. The same is true for the NHS. We recently conducted a review of that, and it showed the fear that NHS staff have of violence and abuse. A third of the union’s membership is a surprisingly large number, and it is unforgivable that a person’s health should be seriously affected because of the threats and abuse that they receive when simply doing their job. Being frightened to go to work must be a terrible feeling. Incidents of shop workers suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder are uncommon, but not unheard of, and such a condition can take years to overcome. Far more common are incidents of workers anticipating something happening at work and waking up in the morning thinking about previous abuse that they or a colleague have suffered. This can lead to a vicious circle of staff not being as productive as they could be, which in turn can lead to a poorer service and more complaints and abuse from customers. With such a high number of incidents of staff suffering as a result of customers’ dissatisfaction, it is imperative that a support network is put in place so that if an incident of abuse occurs,a worker is able to feel confident in going to their manager to seek help. While this is becoming more and more prevalent, sadly it is not always the case. USDAW claims that there have been instances where little support has been given to victims of even physical abuse.

 

It would be easy to condemn shop managers for not ensuring that staff feel safe and supported in their jobs. However, the managers themselves are often the victims of abuse and are left with no guidance on how to tackle the issue. Steps which should be taken such as lighting the car park, ensuring that more than one worker locks up at night and installing CCTV cameras are often not the responsibility of a store manager. I believe that it is the role of Government, along with local authorities, to work with the police and the management of shops to ensure that all is done to prevent workers from being susceptible to abuse.

 

The Co-operative Group and other co-operative retail societies are major supporters of USDAW’s campaign and have their own ‘Respect for Shopworkers’ campaign to protect those that work in convenience retail stores. They have brought in various initiatives in their stores, such as installing classical music devices to deter anti-social behaviour outside the store, and create a welcoming atmosphere for customers. Crime has reduced by 70 per cent in the stores where classical music is played. They support neighbourhood policing, and last year they organised a series of local respect events in communities with police, residents and local authorities. The Co-operative offers spare store space in a number of stores to local police, creating a place where they can work while out on the beat.

 

Trade unions also have a role to play in tackling the issue, as shop workers and managers are in a far stronger position to defend and support themselves knowing that the guidance and aid of a union is available to them. USDAW has compiled guides to supporting workers and tackling anti-social behaviour, and I urge shop workers to think seriously about joining a trade union.

 

I am grateful to have the opportunity to address this issue, and I hope that it will remind people that shop workers are there to serve us—literally; they are only doing their job, so let them do it in safety. It is time to say that the customer is not always right, that abuse is not part of a shop worker’s job and that it should not be tolerated.

 

Joyce Watson: Most people who visit a shop are considerate, polite and jolly, but it is also sad to say that not all customers and shoppers are of that manner. We expect those people who work in shops to have an entitlement to freedom from fear. The evidence supports the fact that there are no age, gender, race or other barriers to the abuser or the abused. Shop workers are public servants, and we all know that that job is difficult. No-one accepts this type of behaviour in the health service, and that is right and proper. It is time to move the agenda that we do not accept bad behaviour towards public servants who happen to work in the shop workers industry. I commend Lorraine for bringing forward this debate and giving me an opportunity to send the message that it is wrong in every case to abuse a shop worker. It is also the case, as Lorraine said, that the customer is not always right. I hope that others will join me in conveying that message in their locality, and join a local campaign in their given area to highlight the issues that have been raised.

Brian Gibbons: I start by thanking Lorraine and Joyce for their contributions. I am pleased to give my support to USDAW’s Freedom from Fear campaign. I would also like to thank and congratulate Janice Gregory for her long record in highlighting this particular area of work and for working with USDAW to make our shops safer places for staff to work. The Welsh Assembly Government has supported USDAW and its campaigns to prevent violence, threats and abuse against shop workers since the first campaign was launched in 2002. I think that Janice was involved at that particular juncture.

There are some, if you listen to the media, who try to play down the issue of health and safety at work. We often read stories in certain media outlets about overzealous health and safety inspectors, but we never read in the same papers about the deaths, injuries and hurt that the health and safety inspectorate prevents and, as Lorraine said in her contribution, this is an area where prevention is much better than cure. While it is important that we have a proportionate and risk-based approach to health and safety at work, it is in all our interests, no matter what people’s professional calling is, that they have the right to work in a safe and secure environment. That is why I, like everyone else who heard Lorraine’s contribution, was appalled to hear the statistics that USDAW has prepared that show that so many of its staff, over a relatively short period of time, have been subject to violence and abuse. As Lorraine said, and it is an important point to repeat, there are not just the physical consequences or the psychological hurt at the time that the insults are made. If a person wakes up in the morning and is afraid to go into work, it destroys their quality of life. It is horrific to realise that some people working in the retail trade could be suffering long-term consequences such as post-traumatic stress syndrome. It is a sad situation that this has come to pass.

Retail workers are an important part of our economy and community; they are not faceless individuals, but our friends, parents, wives and husbands. I applaud this campaign and any action that will be taken to prevent front-line workers in the private or public sector from physical attacks and verbal abuse. Both Joyce and Lorraine highlighted the fact that we are in the run-up to Christmas, and, while some of us like it, others have a much more mixed view. There is no doubt that it is a time when stores are busy and crowded and when people are stressed, but it is sadly the case that a small minority of shoppers thinks that this time of year is also a licence to shout at and abuse staff, who are doing their best in difficult circumstances. We must send out a strong message in this debate that that is not good enough.

We realise that, at this time of year, town centres are particularly vulnerable areas. What happens outside a shop can also contribute to the problems inside it. USDAW has highlighted the role of closed-circuit television. It can play a significant role in protecting the public outside the shop door and it can be a valuable deterrent when it comes to people who think that they can go into a shop, abuse staff, walk out and escape undetected. Therefore, CCTV can be an important instrument in bringing these people to account. USDAW is lobbying for more police and police community support officers to patrol our streets, particularly in our shopping precincts. The UK Government’s promotion of neighbourhood policing has also meant that dedicated police officers and PCSOs are working at the heart of their communities and are in a unique position to get to know shop workers on a first-name basis. In tackling local problems and giving the police a visible face, they are able to take into account the unique circumstances of their own areas. The further development of community policing fits in well with the campaign that is being promoted by USDAW.

I was pleased to see, in the last few weeks, the formal launch by the police forces in Wales of their crime statistics database, which will allow us to look at the levels of crime in all of our communities and, in those areas where there are above-average levels of crime, to get a feel for what the police are doing to address it.

Community safety is not just for the police, or the council, or any single agency. All of us as citizens have a responsibility, and we need to work with our front-line staff, whether they are shop workers, or in public services, or even football referees. They deserve our support—unless they give a wrong decision against Rhyl F.C., of course.

Central to this is the work of the community safety partnerships, which are the crucial agency for tackling local priorities on this. They are making a real difference, reflecting people’s concerns and seeking to address crime and disorder, anti-social behaviour and the misuse of substances that can destroy entire communities and people’s quality of life.

As an Assembly Government we are concerned about some of the points that were made in the debate. Our recent strategy on substance misuse, ‘Working Together to Reduce Harm’, highlighted the anti-social consequences of both drugs and alcohol. We know that substance misuse is an important driver of acquisitive crime and, clearly, shoplifting is one of those types of crime that is often driven by a drug habit. By working to tackle the problem of substance misuse, we will hopefully make the working environment safer for members of USDAW and others in the retail sector.

Alcohol is an important area, and the challenge for shop workers to ensure that alcohol is not sold to people under 18 can be a problem. However, it is encouraging to see that the fail rate in test purchasing operations is lower than it was a few years ago. We must continue to promote mystery shopping to ensure that that progress is continued. Equally, we realise that the sale of drink to underage people is sometimes driven by unscrupulous shop owners, who lack a sense of public duty. Very often, it is the consequence of intimidation, and both the shop owner and worker may feel compelled to sell for that reason. This is a wide problem area, and changing public attitudes is important.

This debate is particularly timely for me as a Minister because, earlier this week, I joined the fire and rescue service, the police and the Crown Prosecution Service at Ely fire station here in Cardiff to sign the UK’s first memorandum of understanding ensuring effective prosecution of cases involving abuse against fire and rescue service personnel. By signing this memorandum, we are sending out a clear message to emergency workers and front-line workers that they do not have to put up with such behaviour, and we as an Assembly Government will support them in building a safer work environment, as well as ensuring that the perpetrators will be held to account.

Ann Jones: While I welcome that, it is something that the Fire Brigades Union has been pushing for for some time. Does it include control room staff, who will suffer abuse on the telephone, as well as front-line firefighters in the field? Can we look at this memorandum of understanding and ask USDAW whether we could do something similar for shop workers?

Brian Gibbons: That is a good idea, and to answer your question, yes, it includes control room staff and the fire and rescue service staff who are not fully kitted out but do community safety work, making people’s homes safer from fire. Lorraine pointed out the key role played by trade unions in promoting this work, and the Fire Brigades Union has been a key agent in highlighting the risks to firefighters.

Launching that memorandum of understanding was salutary and, indeed, sad, because it was clear that many firefighters regarded bricks and insults as part of the job and seemed to have resigned themselves to being treated in that way. Possibly some in the retail trade, particularly at this time of year, also think that it goes with the territory. We have to send out a clear message that that is not the case, and it is not acceptable in a socially responsible and civil society.

We have also heard of the good work that is done by my colleague the Minister for Health and Social Services, who has very much led the way in taking action to protect front-line services, whether in the public or private sectors, and also working with lone workers—not just people in an accident and emergency department or on wards, but lone workers who go to people’s houses. It is important that we recognise the need for them to be safe as well.

In conclusion, this is a very important campaign, because of the key messages that it gives in relation to our concern for front-line workers. It is also an important debate because it is about setting standards for public behaviour, public morality and public value, and those who contravene social standards need to be held to account for what they do. It would be so much better to create a society here in Wales and across the United Kingdom in which people are sufficiently civic minded to get to a situation in which this sort of activity is regarded as being totally beyond the pale and where people do not stoop to those low standards.