Some of the biggest names in retail have banded together to call for government action to counter violence and abuse targeted at store staff, which has surged during the pandemic.
Retail leaders including Co-op Food chief executive Jo Whitfield, Boots managing director Seb James, Dixons Carphone chief executive Alex Baldock and Marks & Spencer chief executive Steve Rowe were among 23 industry bosses who signed a joint letter urging support for a private members’ bill on the matter.
Nottingham North MP Alex Norris’s Assault on Shop Workers Bill is expected to have its second reading in Parliament this week and retailers want the government to back it.
In a letter published in The Sunday Times, the retailers wrote: “Retail workers have played a vital role in helping the nation cope with the Covid-19 pandemic… yet those retail workers have faced an ever-rising tide of abuse, threats and violence.”
They said that one retailer had suffered a 56% increase in physical assaults during lockdown and such incidents have become “part of the job”.
They wrote: “This is not acceptable. The government must act.” The bill is being supported by shopworkers’ union Usdaw, as well as employers, and by MPs across all parties.
The retailers said: “There is a clear and broad consensus behind this bill. The government should support it and find time for it to pass through Parliament.”
Other signatories of the letter included Morrisons chief executive David Potts, Tesco UK chief executive Jason Tarry, Aldi chief executive Giles Hurley, Lidl chief executive Christian Härtnagel and WHSmith chief executive Carl Cowling, along with Sainbury’s chief executive Simon Roberts and Asda chief executive Roger Burnley.
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