Over 100,000 sign pensioner’s petition to bring back tills at Tesco
69 year old Pat McCarthy says her local Tesco has ''inaccessible self-service tills with no staff', leaving some shoppers waiting over 30 minutes to be served
A regular shopper at Tesco is pleading with the supermarket giant to “stop replacing people with machines”, and has even launched a petition to take them on.
Pat McCarthy, aged 69, started the petition after she struggled to use the self-checkout tills at her local big Tesco supermarket.
Stating “you can’t speak to a machine”, she’s now calling on the company to reintroduce more staffed checkouts – and it seems the nation is on her side.
The petition has already hit over 100,000 signatures – 102,222 at the time of writing – and looks set to soon become one of the most-signed petitions on Change.org.
In it, Pat makes several well-put arguments for the return of more staff, explaining that at her local Tesco, and “probably all over the country, Tesco is bringing in new self-service and sort-it-yourself card only till machines. They make up 3/4 of the tills now.
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“These new tills are not accessible for people who don’t have credit cards and can only use cash or those with little confidence to use these self-service card-only tills – myself included.
“As an older woman, I can’t lift anything heavy, and that goes for many disabled people.”
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She continues: “People such as carers, older people, disabled people with mobility problems or lifting problems have to queue waiting for more than 30 minutes.
“I couldn’t lift the windscreen wash the other day in Tesco because it was so heavy and some men were lovely to help and had to put it in my car for me.
“If they weren’t around and my daughter wasn’t with me, I would have been helpless.”
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On my last visit to Tesco’s we had a £170 shop. We were told to go to the self check out tills! We said unless you open the check out we were leaving all this right here and will never shop here again – they opened the tills #BringBackTescoStaff
Her petition also points out that the new self-service tills have “displaced mainly part-time women staff”, and echos something many older people miss – the bit of chit-chat you have with the staff as they’re scanning your items.
She explains: “I love chatting with the staff, albeit briefly, especially as l live on my own. Talking with human staff is important to me. Now that experience has been taken away from me.
It is not the first time that shoppers have pushed back against self-checkout tills. Back in 2015, Morrisons brought back staff at 1,000 “express” checkouts after learning 67% of their customers felt enxious using the self scanning tills.
The full petition reads: “My name is Pat, I am 69 years old, and retired but I am a volunteer helping disabled people with applying for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) forms and a Trustee of my local Disability Network.
“My local Tesco has inaccessible self-service tills with no staff which makes the shopping experience physically difficult and overwhelming.
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“At my local Tesco mega-store, and probably all over the country, Tesco is bringing in new self-service and sort-it-yourself card only till machines. They make up 3/4 of the tills now.
“These new tills are not accessible for people who don’t have credit cards and can only use cash or those with little confidence to use these self-service card-only tills – myself included.
“People such as carers, older people, disabled people with mobility problems or lifting problems have to queue waiting for more than 30 minutes.
“I couldn’t lift the windscreen wash the other day in Tesco because it was so heavy and some men were lovely to help and had to put it in my car for me. If they weren’t around and my daughter wasn’t with me, I would have been helpless.
“These new self-service card tills have displaced mainly part-time women staff.
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“I love chatting with the staff, albeit briefly, especially as l live on my own. Talking with human staff is important to me. Now that experience has been taken away from me.
“With these new replacement Self-service-card-only tills (SSCOT) you have to choose your shopping if you can find it, put it in the trolley, unpack it, load it onto the belt that is static, scan it (if the scanner works), shove it across onto a packing area, pay for it and then lift it off out of the packing area and then load it into your trolley. This is a physically taxing process. As an older woman, I can’t lift anything heavy, and that goes for many disabled people.
“I challenge Ken Murphy Chief Executive of Tesco to meet with me for a discussion to explain his ‘replace people with machines policy’. I want Ken Murphy to bring staff back to do check-outs on the till and not have a replace people with machines policy.
“If we lose, it means an erosion of a great shopping experience into a Tesco’s shopping nightmare.
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“Sign and share this petition to help people with physical difficulties to have a better shopping experience in Tesco by bringing back staff.”
A Tesco spokesperson said: “Our colleagues and the friendly service they provide are absolutely vital to our stores and will always be on hand to help our customers, whether they are checking out at one of our colleague-operated or self-service checkouts.”
If you’d like to sign the petition you can do so here.
Independent review into police actions during Manchester synagogue terror attack finds ‘no misconduct’
Emily Sergeant
An independent review into the terror attack at a synagogue in Crumpsall last week has concluded there was ‘no misconduct’ by the police.
The investigation was carried out by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) following the shocking knife and car attack, which took place last Thursday 2 October on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, at the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue.
Two men sadly lost their lives during the attack – Adrian Daulby, 53, who is believed to have been shot dead by Greater Manchester Police (GMP) while trying to stop the attacker from entering the synagogue, and Melvin Cravitz, 66, a worshipper who also helped stop the attacker.
The attacker has been named as 35-year-old Jihad al Shamie – a 35-year-old British citizen of Syrian descent who lived in Prestwich – who at the time was on bail for an alleged rape, before being shot dead by police.
Statement from Chief Constable Sir Stephen Watson following an update from the Independent Office for Police Conduct. This comes after last week's attack at Heaton Park Synagogue. pic.twitter.com/5tQQKeNaTh
The IOPC says its investigation is ‘mandatory’ in situations where police use of force may have resulted in the death of a member of the public.
Their investigation looked at the actions and decision-making of the officers involved in the incident.
“Over the coming days, we will continue to review the substantial amount of evidence gathered up to now, and will begin the process of obtaining more detailed statements from police witnesses,” the IOPC said in a statment.
GMP’s Chief Constable, Sir Stephen Watson, says he ‘welcomes’ the IOPC’s finding that no misconduct is apparent in the actions required of officers in ‘bringing this dreadful attack to an end’.
An independent review into police actions during the Manchester synagogue terror attack has found ‘no misconduct’ / Credit: GMP
He said in a statement addressing the matter: “Our thoughts will always be with the families and loved ones of those directly affected by this tragedy together with the wider community across Greater Manchester and beyond. Our significant presence and determination to protect everyone from all faith communities across our city region will continue unabated.”
With the IOPC’s investigation into the incident still ongoing, CC Watson assured ‘GMP is committed to openness, transparency, and candour’.
“In respect of all our previous dealings with [al Shamie], and we have therefore asked the IOPC to include this aspect in their ongoing review,” CC Watson continued.
“This includes previous reports of harassment, and an arrest for reports of rape over the past year, for which he was on bail at the time of the attack.”
Featured Image – GMP
News
Breakaway competition R360 issues statement after rubgy unions warn players of sanctions
Danny Jones
Prospective breakaway competition R360 have issued a response to the joint statement from multiple countries’ rugby unions, which has warned players of sanctions should they choose to join the new league.
While the vast majority seemingly remain opposed to the new concept, backing from certain key figures has resulted in the likes of the UK and Irish rugby unions, along with other key nations, sharing their unified stance against the potential rival.
Put in the simplest terms, the R360 model is rugby’s equivalent of what the proposed European ‘Super League’ was for football just a few years ago, with similar questions being raised around how it could jeopardise existing contests, player wellbeing and more.
Now, though, the new format – which has been largely backed and developed by former World Cup winner with England, Mike Tindall – delivered its own reply on Wednesday, 8 October.
Shared publicly to the press, the alternative tournament wrote: “It’s not always easy to embrace new opportunities, but as we’ve seen throughout history, it’s essential for any sport to grow. So many players love what R360 can do for them and the game, and we can’t wait to kick off next year.
“Player welfare is one of the key reasons for creating our global series, which will greatly reduce player load and capture the attention of a new generation of fans globally. We want to work collaboratively as part of the global rugby calendar.
“The series is designed with bespoke schedules for men’s and women’s teams and R360 will release all players for international matches, as written into their contracts. Our philosophy is clear – if players want to play for their country, they should have that opportunity. Why would the unions stand in their way?
“We look forward to submitting to the World Rugby Council for sanctioning next summer as planned.”
At present, R360 is due to hold its inagural season this time next year, with eight new male teams and four women’s sides expected to get underway from October 2026 onwards.
In addition to more lucrative contracts like those promised in the IPL (Indian Premier League) cricket, LIV Golf and the aforementioned albeit failed Super League, R360 is also set to offer a reduced playing schedule but one that would still tempt athletes away from their current teams to new franchises.
The national rugby unions of New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, Ireland, England, Scotland, France and Italy have released the following statement on the proposed R360 competition ⬇️#IrishRugby
Although they have assured player care is an utmost priority, their health and fitness is one of my concerns put forward by the total eight rubgy unions who have urged current pros to stay away from the breakaway competition.
In case you haven’t seen the statement release by England, Ireland and Scotland, as well as France, Italy, New Zealand, Australia and South Africa, it begins by “urging extreme caution for players and support staff considering joining the proposed R360 competition.”
Assuring that they welcome “investment and innovation in rugby”, they feel this particular idea won’t improve the sport but could instead “fragment or weaken it.”
Having assessed the proposals supposed value/addition to the “rugby’s global ecosystem”, it seems the fear is that the outcome will be a “net negative to the game”, with little to no detail as to how it can run alongside existing fixtures, assure proper management of player welfare and more.
As for Wales, despite opting not to put their name to the open letter itself, they have stated publicly: “The Welsh Rugby Union supports this statement, and we’re considering changes we may need to make to qualification rules in Wales as part of ongoing analysis following our recent consultation process.”
The statement continues: “The R360 model, as outlined publicly, rather appears designed to generate profits and return them to a very small elite, potentially hollowing out the investment that national unions and existing leagues make in community rugby, player development, and participation pathways.”
It seems there is deep concern for how it could affect grassroots and the international rugby too, not just league and union, and have failed to full explain or help key organisations “better understand their business and operating model.”
Most notably, they sign off by adding: “Each of the national unions will therefore be advising men’s and women’s players that participation in R360 would make them ineligible for international selection.”
What do you make of the whole debate – do you like the current schedule/format as it is, or do you think there’s room for a new chapter in the rugby world?
Georgina Pellant -
18th May 2022 
