MPs back Co-op campaign for better protection for staff who face Covid-19-related threats

By Liz Wells in Industry News 9th July 2020

Hundreds of MPs from across the country have teamed up with Central England Co-op to campaign for better protection for employees dealing with customers who use the Coronavirus as a verbal and physical threat.

Some examples of incidents have included multiple threats by customers to cough on employees and ‘give them Coronavirus’ and further threats of assaults because people have had to queue to enter stores, social distance or because the store does not have a specific product.

Central England Co-op, which operates more than 260 food stores across 16 counties, has joined forces with over 200 parliamentarians to reinforce its message to keep staff and customers safe and that any type of crime would ‘not be tolerated’ during these uncertain times.

Jim McMahon MP, chair of the Co-operative Party Parliamentary Group, said: “Shopworkers have been going to work and quite literally putting themselves at risk so the rest of us can get the food and other essential items we need, and dealing with unimaginable anxiety in the process, they shouldn’t have to deal with people threatening to give them Covid-19 on top of that.”

Lillian Greenwood, MP for Nottingham South, said: “We owe a lot to our shopworkers who have and continue to work tirelessly throughout the coronavirus crisis to support our communities. Any violence or threats towards them are completely unacceptable and more must be done to protect them.”

Andrew Selous, MP for South West Bedfordshire, added: “Anyone who deliberately tries to expose anyone to coronavirus, or even pretends to, should be ashamed of themselves and face the full weight of the law.”

The retailer recently joined forces with co-operatives up and down the country in a plea to better protect its colleagues.

Craig Goldie, loss prevention manager at Central England Co-op, said: “During these uncertain times we are all having to adapt, but one thing that remains constant for us here at Central England Co-op is our zero tolerance towards all types of crime.

“We want to send a clear message out to anyone who might consider targeting our stores at this time – it is not worth the risk and no crime will be tolerated.”

Central England Co-op has invested heavily in measures to protect colleagues and customers over the past three years, including fitting stores with external motion detectors and a centrally-monitored CCTV system fitted that enables colleagues to call for assistance at the touch of a button.