Feature

Checking out retail health

Margaret Sharky has been looking into the hazards of life on the shopfloor

”Women’s work” in offices shops and hospitals is often thought of as clean and safe. Shopworkers in the north east were recently quoted in the local press saying their work was “quite safe, really, compared to the shipyards and factory work”. This attitude, combined with the enormous problems of organising workers in industries that rely on part-time and temporary staff, has reduced workers’ concern for health and safety.

Every year an average of nine employees and eight members of the public die as a result of injuries received in shops. A further 6,000 shopworkers are injured seriously enough for them to take at least three days off work. Shops also have low-level hazards which can create chronic problems and affect women’s health in many different ways.

Maureen Maddon, a shopworker for 16 years and now a member of trade union USDAW’s national executive described the conditions in retailing as “appalling”. “But what is worse is that women are so afraid of getting the sack that they put up with it. So accidents are reported. they don’t get rest breaks. There is no training. Checkouts are badly designed and are doing everyone’s back in, but management gets away with it.”

The trade union studies information unit (TUSIU) surveyed 3,000 workers in nine stores in a variety of locations in Tyne and Wear to try to get a general idea of conditions.

It was found that 35% of the sample had had an accident; 17% had not reported it. Slips, trips and falls are the most common, followed by injuries occurring whist handling, lifting or carrying goods. Many of the accidents in the survey could be prevented by prevented by proper attention to store design, goods packaging and transportation, and by better housekeeping. The accidents begged questions about the general state of the shop: “broke two fingers moving cage out of lift”, “broke toes when run over by a trolley”, suggest unreasonably heavy loads and/or bad trolley design.

Damage to the spine and back is common in shopworkers.

”I get backache. Mainly because the scanner is placed in an awkward position to the actual till, so I’m doing a lot of twisting and stretching. My doctor claims that it is the beginning of arthritis due to wear and tear.”

Twenty five % of the sample reported regular backache. Manual lifting and carrying are the main problems, but badly designed checkouts also cause a lot of pain. Workers are often expected to carry heavy loads beyond their capacities, but even comparatively light loads can cause severe injuries.

Problems such as numbness, pain, tingling in fingers, hands, wrists, arms, shoulders or neck were reported by 46% of the sample. The managers who had thought about this problem believed workers were not at risk if they “only” worked for three hours a day on a checkout, but the part-time workers were just as likely to suffer: the checkout design and the speed staff are expected to process goods are the damaging factors.

Of the sample 41% complained of regular headaches, rising to 55% in one large hypermarket. Lighting, heating and ventilation need to be looked at. The comfort of the worker appears to be a low priority.

Only 25% are generally warm enough in winter and cool enough in summer. A total of 46% complain that they regularly have to work in a draught.

Most of the workers enjoyed their work, but there were problems with management style:

”It’s stressful when the ‘big boss’ visits. Everyone works late to fill the shop up, but we don’t get paid overtime. He just walks around and if something is wrong he gives you hell in front of all the other managers.”

It is clear that men often go beyond a joke, although this may not always be pointed out to them. Fourteen % of the sample reported sexual harassment, mainly suggestive remarks. Some of the managers were aware that there was a problem in areas like warehousing and butchers’ departments and knew that women would find it unpleasant to work there. Men have been sacked for serious offences, but the day to day abuse is left for the women to challenge.

At one shop a checkout operator said a customer had thrown a tin of biscuits at her because they got sick of waiting. Overall, 8% had actually experienced a violent incident at work. But a further 34% thought it would be easy for someone to assault them because of the location of the store, and in one out-of-town centre 64% were afraid of attacks.

In addition the survey looked at transport problems, child care, and the differences in attitudes of the women and the managers to “flexible hours”. It also has suggestions for improving standards.

The full survey, which includes interviews with workers, managers environmental health officers and town planners is available from TUSIU for £10. A summary costs £1.50