09/03/2009 - Attacks on shop workers reported
Attacks and threats against 4,000 shop staff a year north of the border have been reported by shop workers union USDAW at the Scottish Labour Conference in Dundee.
Said spokeswoman Mary Fee: "Retail crime is far from a victimless crime - ask any of the shop workers who are attacked by violent criminals." She has called for the authorities "to deal harshly with anyone who attacks a worker who is simply doing their job".
Security staff and store managers are the people most likely to be attacked, Ms Fee said, as they have to deal with shop-lifters, who are responsible for two thirds of violence. She said: "Every shop worker I have spoken to has had experience of violence or abuse at work."
Examples include "the young shelf stacker who was kicked and punched by a customer because the brand of tea he wanted wasn't on the shelf, the checkout operator who had a bag of potatoes thrown at her because her till didn't have scales, the security guard who was dragged into the street by robbers and beaten with a baseball bat".
Copyright © Press Association 2009
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