‘Christmas must be coming’ said one of my colleagues when I mentioned this year’s Respect for Shopworkers event at the National Assembly for Wales. Every year Labour AMs and others pose in Santa hats alongside Usdaw members to create the photos which will secure local newspaper coverage of the serious issues around violence against shopworkers. The added dangers faced by Usdaw members during the pre-Christmas period are a way of dramatising the problem but all year round a shopworker is abused or attacked every minute of the working day.
Awareness-raising is important. I’ve known that violence against shopworkers is a problem since I was on the receiving end while doing a Saturday job many years ago. Most members of the public do not have that personal experience, so it is useful to make them think twice when they are tempted to vent their anger on a shopworker. I hope we can also encourage people to help avert incidents by showing concern rather than walking away when they see another shopper behaving badly. Self-control and social pressure are both good but they are not enough.
That is why I support Usdaw’s campaign for a protection of workers bill creating penalties of up to 12 months’ imprisonment or a £10,000 fine on top of normal penalties for assault when the victim is a worker engaged in face-to-face contact with the public. The last Labour government rightly took action to provide extra protection for emergency workers; now we need safeguards for all public-facing workers.
Policing and criminal justice are not devolved, but the Welsh government has just delivered on its 2011 manifesto commitment to fund 500 additional community support officers. We hope this extra uniformed presence will help to deter crime and free police officers to deal with more serious incidents. Welsh Labour is committed to creating a safer local environment which will help reduce crime. Community safety partnerships in all 22 local authorities in Wales bring together councils, police, the fire and rescue service, the NHS, voluntary organisations, businesses and community groups to look at tackling all the causes of crime. Our Tidy Towns initiative helps councils and community groups to undertake work to counter problems like litter and graffiti which create a sense of neglect and indifference to antisocial behaviour. We have taken a consistent zero-tolerance approach to violence wherever possible within our devolved powers – from a determined stand against those who abuse staff in the public services to our long-term work on tackling violence against women, with a bill on the subject soon to be introduced.
I believe that these approaches point the way forward in tackling the problems highlighted by Usdaw and I only wish that the UK government had a similar commitment to using its much greater powers in this field with as much focus and determination. We are doing our best in Wales to create conditions in which the risk of violence against shopworkers is reduced. I know, however, that it was the extra 10,000 police officers the last Labour government put on the streets which brought down crime and that we need tougher penalties to deter the minority who believe they can get away with attacking those who serve them in our shops. Only Labour will deliver that strong action at UK level.
I’ll be putting on my Santa hat again at this year’s assembly event but I know that, like a puppy, the shopworkers’ Freedom from Fear Campaign isn’t just for Christmas but a year-round responsibility for us all.
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Janice Gregory is Labour Welsh assembly member for Ogmore and a member of Usdaw. She tweets @janice4ogmore
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