Offices and shops ‘need safety inspections’

Retail union USDAW has accused the Con Dem government of attacking the most fundamental right at work – the right to be safe.

Moving the Rights at Work motion at the Labour Party’s annual conference in Manchester last month, the union’s general secretary, John Hannett, hit out at Tory claims that “safe” workplaces like shops and offices do not need health and safety inspections, pointing out that shop workers face verbal abuse, threats and even violence.

“The truth is that one in 10 shopworkers are assaulted every year. Every minute of every day a shopworker is verbally abused,” he said. “We must keep independent workplace inspections, we must resource rigorous enforcement of the law and we must protect all public facing workers. Protect them from the dangers of the workplace and from the dangers of the coalition government.”

The motion called for:

• a vigorous campaign against the coalition’s downgrading of health and safety protection for workers and decreasing inspections;

• increased resources to be made available for inspection of workplaces so there is a rigorous and independent enforcement of health and safety law; and

• an extension of Emergency Workers (Obstruction) Act 2006 to all public-facing employees — making assault of a worker whose employment involves dealing with members of the public an offence.

Lord Young’s recommendations following his review of health and safety legislation for David Cameron, expected last month, were published as Workplace Report went to press.