No place for staff abuse on forecourts, says union leader

By Éilis Cronin in Industry News 29th September 2021

The petrol delivery crisis must not lead to forecourt staff being abused by customers, says the leader of the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (USDAW).

Paddy Lillis raised the issue because staff were abused during the first lockdown and he wants to make sure there is no repeat.

He said: “It is deeply disturbing to see panic buying back and it reminds us of the dark days of the first lockdown.

“During that period retail staff suffered a doubling of abuse from customers and we do not want to see that repeated.

“Abuse should never be just a part of the job and there is no excuse for customers to take their frustrations out on staff.

“The empty shelves and empty petrol pumps that we’ve seen this week are entirely the fault of the Government and their complete failure to get a grip on supply issues.

“Yet who takes the brunt of people’s frustrations? It’s not Boris Johnson. It’s over-stretched, underpaid, exhausted workers who are doing their best in extremely difficult circumstances.

“The Government must take responsibility for this crisis.”