'I'm scared:' Young workers nervous about violence, thefts, but still taking retail jobs

The need for cash is winning out over fear for some young people in Manitoba, who say they're nervous about working in retail but will do it for the paycheque.

"As a university student, I'd still probably take a retail job, but I'd still feel uncomfortable because what's going on in the city," said Hunter Beardy, a student at the University of Manitoba.

A rash of robberies and violence at Winnipeg Liquor Marts, as well as violence at other stores including an incident at a convenience store that saw a 16-year-old shot by policeresponding to a robbery call have many retail workers on edge.

The provincial government announcedits plansThursday for new security measures and collaboration with police to curbLiquor Mart thefts.

Even so, Beardy said while he's been applying for jobs for the holiday season,Liquor Marts might be off his list because of the stories he's heard lately.

"You're putting your life in danger, if things continue."

As of October, Manitobans between theages 15 and 24 made up about 15 per centof the province's workforce, according to Statistics Canada.

The Retail Council of Canada says Manitobaemployers haven't found it difficult to hire people despite the recent reports of violencein retail settings.

Companies might be seeing a bigger hit to their bottom lines because of aboost in security precautions, rather than a lack of young people looking for jobs, saysJohn Graham, a director with the retailcouncil.

"Retail is still the largest single employer in the province, and every day, Manitobans go to work and return safely. But it's certainly attracting greater investment in security systems," he said.

Many retailers arehiring plainclothes and uniformed security, putting valuable products behind locked cabinets and investing in more "prevalent" security systems.

"Retailers are taking issues of safety very, very seriously," Graham said. "The effort going into ensuring safe work environments and shopping environments is unprecedented."

That comes at a cost, though, "that either hasto be absorbed by the business or passed on to the consumers," he said.

"So this is a concern for ensuring that Manitoba retailers remain competitive with a retail environment that's increasingly going online."

'I don't want to get stabbed'

Mohamed Faiz Malek is working for a security company, while taking microbiology courses at the University of Manitoba. He's been placed as a guard in several different stores in the past.

"In retail, it's good if you have the backup," he said. "But if we caught the people, they would try to stab us, they would try to fight us. If we call the police, they would come late."

Malek said he's recently asked for changes in his assignments.

"I don't take Dollaramas now. I don't take 7-Elevens. I'll just take apartments and quiet places because I'm scared. I don't want to get stabbed."

There's fear, too, for some parents of young employees. Leanne Kasian has become more worriedfor her 19-year-old daughter, who works as a restaurant server,since hearing about the Liquor Mart incidents.

"It just kind of goes to show that people are getting a little more daring," she said. Her daughter's restaurant has"actually had a lot more walkouts since then, too, because people are just feeling brave enough."

The Charleswood mom is also trying to encourage her other daughter, a 15-year-old student at Grant Park High School, to look at jobs for the future. But she worries for her younger daughter's safety, too.

"You start thinking, like, what would be the safest option?" she said. "Would it be McDonald's or somewhere more public?Definitely not a Liquor Mart. It's just hard these days.

"Asa parent, it's very frightening."