Usdaw Freedom From Hate Campaign

13th October, 2016

Usdaw Freedom From Hate Campaign

Yesterday in Parliament I attended the launch event for Usdaw’s “Freedom from Fear Campaign”. I am supporting their crucial campaign to make working environments safer for shop workers who can often face both verbal and physical abuse from customers.

The campaign seeks to make it clear that abuse is never “part of the job” and that everyone has the right to carry out their duties without fear of insults, threats or violence.

Many shop workers are abused in the workplace. Somehave been verbally abused for asking for proof of age, others physically attacked after confronting shop lifters and some see customers become aggressive for no clear reason. Too often shop workers are confronted with abuse when simply trying to work.

This year Usdaw’s annual “Respect for Shopworkers Week” will run from November 14th to 20th. There will be events across the country to highlight the problems, especially before the busy Christmas shopping period.

Respect for Shopworkers Week has four main aims:

Negotiate with employers for safety and security improvements in stores.
Campaign for Government to ensure that their policies and actions help tackle retail crime and anti-social behaviour in shopping areas.
Raise awareness with the shopping public that violence, threats and abuse against workers is unacceptable behaviour.
Give workers the confidence to speak out and not accept abuse as just a part of the job

I hope that through campaigning with Usdaw, working with businesses in Garston & Halewood and talking to union reps’ we can ensure that shopworkers have a safe working environment, free from fear.

You can find more information about the campaign on Usdaw’s website by following this link:https://www.usdaw.org.uk/Campaigns/Freedom-From-Fear