A petition launched by a Tesco worker, calling on the government to make violence or abuse against retail workers a standalone criminal offence, hit 10,000 signatures on Saturday.
The milestone means the government must now respond to the petition, which was launched last week.
The supermarket’s UK CEO Jason Tarry has backed the petition, which may be debated in Parliament if it reaches 100,000 signatures.
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The chief executive said: “I am fully behind the petition to make the abuse of retail workers a standalone offence. We want our colleagues to be safe at work.
“Creating a standalone offence not only sends a strong message to the small but violent group of people who abuse and attack shopworkers, but also makes it clear to shopworkers that as a nation we take protecting them seriously”.
The petition was originally launched by Jenny Whyte, who works in the grocer’s convenience stores in the North of England.
Tesco has introduced further measures to tackle the rising abuse of shopworkers, including body cameras and new safety screens, according to the retailer.
The news comes after Tesco reported violent incidents against its store workers were up by a third on this time last year.
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