One in three Asda staff have been attacked at work, according to a GMB survey that included reports of workers being stabbed, punched and threatened with syringes.
In the poll of almost 1,000 staff at the supermarket, the union said workers reported they had been spat at, suffered broken bones, hit with bottles and had death threats against them and their children.
Over half (58%) of respondents said they had suffered injury or illness on the job while delivery drivers said they have been chased by people in cars and been confronted by customers in the nude, while store workers have had watermelons and joints of gammon thrown at them.
In total, 339 Asda workers (35%) told GMB they had been a victim of verbal or physical violence while doing their job, with the poll set to be discussed at GMB’s annual congress in Bournemouth on Tuesday.
Violence against shop workers in the UK has been surging in recent years with daily incidents against shop workers up 50%, British Retail Consortium figures revealed.
Retailers have spent £1.2bn on safety measures including CCTV, body cameras and increased security personnel over the year, a rise from £722m the previous year.
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GMB national officer Nadine Houghton called the union’s findings “horrifying” and said “no one should have to suffer this kind of abuse and violence at work”.
She added: “But this situation is only going to get worse as staff hours are slashed, leaving less people in store and those who are there more vulnerable.”
A spokesperson for Asda told the Guardian: “Unfortunately, like all retailers, we have seen an increase of violence and aggression towards our colleagues during the last few years. The safety of our colleagues is a primary concern, which is why we have invested over £30m during the last three years to upgrade the CCTV systems in stores.
“We work with all of our colleague representatives in the important area of colleague security and also back calls for violence or abuse against retail workers to be made a standalone criminal offence in all parts of the UK, and hope this is a priority for any incoming government.”
This week, Labour also pledged to help the high street by tackling anti-social behaviour through the introduction of new town centre police patrols.
The party’s manifesto will also include laws that clamp down on violence against shop workers. It comes as shoplifting reached the highest level since records began last year, the Office for National Statistics reported.
Labour has long campaigned with shop workers union Usdaw to make violence against shop workers a stand-alone offence. The government agreed to include this in the Criminal Justice bill this year, however, it was ditched when Rishi Sunak called the election last month.
Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper vowed to make this law if Labour is elected.
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