Sadly we need a Worker’s Protection Bill - Iain Gray

Workplace statistics show that every day on average, more than 400 retail workers in the UK are attacked – just for doing their jobs.

Shop workers are facing abuse for policing Covid precautions

This shocking figure underlines the fact that retail and distribution staff already had a difficult job before the pandemic, but the last year has seen them on the font line like never before.

Shop workers have been working hard to help ensure the public can continue to get the essentials they need but are also being asked to enforce social distancing and wearing face coverings to help keep us all safe.

This has put many of them further in danger: we have already seen shopworkers abused and spat at just for enforcing safety rules.

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Nobody should face violence, threats or abuse at work, nor should it just be viewed as ‘part of the job’. That is why USDAW, the Co-operative Party, Scotmid, the Co-operative Group, and many others have been campaigning for a change to the law to secure stronger protections for shopworkers and tougher penalties against those who assault or threaten them.

I have always supported legislative efforts to increase the legal protection for staff doing their jobs and was an early supporter of Daniel Johnson’s Protection of Workers Bill.

His Members’ Bill creates a new statutory offence of assaulting, threatening or abusing a retail worker and provides further legal protections when the worker is carrying out their statutory duties such as age restricted sales

Earlier this week the bill received support from across the political spectrum at its final stage in Parliament, ensuring it will become law.

The legislation will make a tangible difference to the lives of retail workers, helping to deter those who might consider attacking or abusing them and ensuring those who do will face tougher penalties when convicted.

It is not easy to pilot backbench legislation through parliament and Daniel deserves great praise for having taken this bill, on such a vitally important issue, all the way to the statute book.