Majority of retail workers report abuse by public

Stressed shoppers have been called upon to respect retail workers in the run up to Christmas after a new survey revealed that 70 per cent of shop assistants have been verbally abused by customers in the last 12 months.

The trade union Mandate, which represents over 50,000 workers in the retail sector, launched a new campaign today to draw awareness to the abuse that those working in shops experience.

According to research commissioned by the union, 30 per cent of retail workers received threats from a customer over the last year while 10 per cent were assaulted.

The union said that many incidents of abuse experienced by employees are based around issues which are outside the control of the worker.

"Our survey results show that nine times out of ten, the problem the customer has is completely out of the control of the employee. Issues such as clothing sizes, refund policies and a lack of stock are high on the agenda of customer complaints, yet retail workers have very little control over these matters," said Mandate's national coordinator for campaigns, Brian Forbes.

"It's clear from the survey that it is a minority of customers who treat retail workers badly and this is not acceptable in the long run," he added.

Mandate called on shoppers to show respect for retail workers over the holiday period and said that employers should also be aware of the stress that its employees are under.

The wholesale and retail sector now accounts for the largest share of employment in the Irish economy with over 200,000 people working in the retail industry alone, according to the union.