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Shopworkers in Scotland have told politicians about violence and abuse in in the retail workplace in Scotland - as they call for greater powers towards a working life "free from fear".

As part of evidence to the Scottish Parliament, in support of the Anti-Social Behaviour (Scotland) Bill, members and officials from Usdaw presented shocking cases including:

• Staff in Glasgow threatened with Samurai swords.

• A shopworker in Paisley spat on and threatened with a hypodermic needle.

• Rocks and bottles hurled at a shop in Midlothian.

In another case, a teenage persistent offender, from the Edinburgh area, waged a campaign of terror for weeks against a female shop assistant and her family after she caught him stealing DVDs. Her son was threatened with having his throat cut.

UNI Commerce affiliate Usdaw, the UK's fifth largest trade union, has a campaign called Freedom From Fear which seeks to increase awareness of the problem of violence and abuse levelled at UK shopworkers, as well as improve safety in the retail workplace. The campaign has been running since 2002.

Shopworker and Usdaw member Audrey Hendrie will tell the Communities Committee today (Wednesday) that Usdaw believes the proposals in the Anti-Social Behaviour (Scotland) Bill will empower the police to deal with the problems caused by young offenders.

Many acts of retail crime are caused by young people. For example, three in every 10 thefts from shops are committed by people under 18 - a significant fact given that 61 per cent of instances of violence against staff result from the apprehension of thieves.

Refusal to sell alcohol on the grounds of age is also a common "trigger" for violence, intimidation and abuse. A survey in July 2003 revealed that 43 per cent of independent retailers in the UK had suffered violent attacks after refusing to sell alcohol to under-age customers.

Audrey Hendrie, who is also chair of Usdaw's Scottish Political Committee, said: "We do not want to tarnish all young people with the same brush, but the fact remains that many retail crimes are committed by teenagers. They make life a misery for many shopworkers. Usdaw looks forward to working with the Scottish Parliament, local authorities and police to make shopworkers aware of the new measures."

• For Usdaw press releases, statistics and background information on the campaign, visit Freedom From Fear.

• Usdaw is the UK's fifth largest trade union with over 330,000 members. More information and news releases are available at our online Newsroom.