VIOLENCE AGAINST SHOPWORKERS

Early day motion 2223, tabled 11 October 2011 by Ann Coffey (Labour). Signed by 67 members.

That this House applauds the members and representatives of the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (USDAW) for their Freedom From Fear Campaign, which seeks to bring together employers, police and local authorities to tackle violence, threats and abuse against shopworkers; is appalled that every minute of every day another shopworker is assaulted, threatened or abused during the course of their duties; welcomes the decrease in incidents against shopworkers, which arenow less than half 2004 levels, as recorded by the British Retail Consortium's Annual Retail Crime Survey; is concerned, however, that the Government's unprecedented cut in police funding could result in the loss of 16,000 frontline officers; is further concerned about the effect these cuts will have on the safety of all workers, with around 80 per cent. of workers having public-facing jobs which, to varying degrees, can lead to incidents of violence, threats and abuse; reminds the Government thatits first duty is to keep the people of the UK safe; and therefore calls on the Government to ensure that frontline policing remains effective, that the police have sufficient resources to do their job and to ensure that crime continues to fall as it did under the previous administration.

Signatures by party: Labour 55, DUP 4, Liberal Democrat 4, Alliance 1, Conservative 1, Independent 1, Plaid Cymru 1.