Leigh MP quizzes shop staff about violent customers

Leigh MP James Grundy paid a fact-finding visit to his local JD Sports store to talk to staff about their experiences of abuse from customers.
Mr Grundy (second left) during his JD Sports visitMr Grundy (second left) during his JD Sports visit
Mr Grundy (second left) during his JD Sports visit

He was responding to a parliamentary call for evidence regarding violence against shopworkers.

Mr Grundy quizzed employees about any issues of this kind they have encountered and why staff safety is key.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

He said: “Sadly, too many retail workers and people in other public facing roles face violence or the threat of violence every day for simply doing their job.

"Last Friday, I met with staff at JD Sports on Parsonage Retail Park, where I was pleased to lend my support to the campaign to reduce these risks within retail workplaces, to work closely with the police to deter such action from being taken, and to provide high quality training to staff to deal with difficult situations safely.

"This multi-organisation campaign also has cross party support, and I look forward to seeing this campaign progress.”

Speaking about the British Retail Consortium’s Shopworkers’ Protection Pledge, JD Sports’ executive chairman Peter Cowgill said: “The safety and security of our staff is our highest priority. We want to ensure that people don’t have to face threatening or violent behaviours in order to do their jobs.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

"We fully support the BRC in the Shopworkers’ Protection Pledge and will do everything we can to bring awareness to this issue.”

The Wigan Observer and Wigan Post are more reliant than ever on your taking out a digital subscription to support our journalism. For unlimited access to Wigan news and information online, you can subscribe here: https://www.wigantoday.net/subscriptions