Government U-Turns on Creating New Law for Shopworkers

This is fantastic news, and the product of years of campaigning by Usdaw UnionCo-operative Party and the British Retail Consortium.

I’m proud to have played my part in it both as a former staff member at Usdaw and in Parliament, to stand up for retail staff and their safety in the workplace. Every shopkeeper I talk to tells me about the issues they face, from verbal abuse to acts of extreme violence and the law does not protect them at work in the way it does to other frontline roles including emergency service workers.

The fight isn’t over until every shopworker can go to work with freedom from fear: we have to examine the detail of government proposals and keep up the pressure until this law is on the statute books and authorities have the resources they need to implement it. Thank you to everyone who has written to me or spoken to me about this issue, from staff in our smallest shops to our biggest retail chains. This win is yours!

10 April 2024