Finian McGrath (Dublin North Central, Independent)
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Question 100: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if she will support a campaign (details supplied) in 2009 following recent reports that 70% of retail workers experience verbal abuse and 10% of shop workers were assaulted. [9516/09]

Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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Workplace violence includes where people in the course of their work are aggressively verbally abused, threatened or physically assaulted.

Workplace violence is a potential hazard in all workplaces where there is interaction between people, clients, customers or employees, and it must be assessed accordingly. Every year, over 5% of all reported workplace accidents in Irish workplaces are due to violence.

The retail sector has recorded the third highest levels of such incidents out of the various sectors where such incidents have occurred.

Incidents of verbal abuse and physical assault cannot be tolerated and, where considered necessary, should be referred to the Gardaí for investigation.

The Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 and the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (General Application) Regulations 2007 require employers to ensure the safety and health of employees. They also require employers at each workplace to carry out risk assessments and prepare a Safety Statement by finding out if there is a problem and how serious it is by identifying the hazards and assessing the risks to health and safety from violent acts and putting in place appropriate safeguards.

The Health and Safety Authority's Programme of Work for 2009 includes an inspection programme to examine the current approaches to health and safety management in the retail sector. It is planned to carry out 250 inspections with a focus on multiple outlet organisations. Inspectors will engage with senior managers in companies with multiple sites to ensure company-wide solutions.

As part of the 2009 Programme of Work, an information sheet/checklist will shortly be available on the Authority's website to assist retailers of small premises in identifying and addressing hazards. Violence has been included in this checklist.

In addition, a publication 'Violence at Work' is currently available to download from the Authority's website at www.hsa.ie.