SUPERMARKETS should do more to protect workers during the pandemic, Newport MS John Griffiths has said.

Mr Griffiths said he had been contacted anonymously with concerns that delivery vehicles are not being cleaned between shifts.

Reports to the Senedd Member also warned that there were insufficient masks on offer for staff, baskets were not being sanitised enough, and shopping was being put in baskets loosely.

Mr Griffiths said: “In the midst of a public health crisis, it is alarming to hear cases of supermarket delivery drivers not feeling safe as they go about their work.

"They are coming into contact with lots of different people and sometimes very vulnerable people on a daily basis.

"Given what we know about how the virus spreads, it’s critical our supermarkets do everything they can to keep their workers safe.

“I will be writing to all of the main supermarkets outlining my concerns and also be making Usdaw (the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers) – the union which represents shop workers aware of what we have been told.

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"I would also strongly urge anyone working in the retail sector to join Usdaw because this will give them an important level of protection in these difficult times.

"It will also give them a mechanism where they can raise legitimate concerns around health and safety with their employers.”

Usdaw also called for more protection of shopworkers following the first, controversial, weekend of the firebreak lockdown.

Confusion over the sale of "non-essential" items in supermarkets was causing frustration for shoppers, and the workers' union warned people not to lash out at staff.

Usdaw said shop workers were simply following the Welsh Government's 'essential' items rule, which had been set following advice from the chief medical officer to bring down the rate of coronavirus transmission.

“Retailers and shopworkers are working extremely hard to comply with the guidance," Usdaw division officer Nick Ireland told the Argus.

“I urge shoppers not to take their frustrations out on hard working shopworkers who have been working throughout the pandemic to ensure the nation’s food and medicine supply.

"I ask all customers to wear a face covering and keep following social distancing measures. Please remember that shop workers are doing their best in a difficult situation and to always treat them with the respect they deserve.”

A survey of union members in the summer reported that they faced abuse every week during the first wave of the pandemic.

The survey showed that 60 per cent had been verbally assaulted, 29 per cent had been threatened, and more then four per cent had been physically assaulted at work.