Shocking video has been released of the violence retail workers are encountering at the hands of customers every day right around the country.

The footage shows retail workers punched in the head, kicked, assaulted and even threatened with knives while trying to do their jobs.

Woolworths released these videos in the hopes of shocking our leaders into action, as rates of violence climb.

“I’ve had one of my stores held up, five people swarmed the store looking for cash,” Lincoln Wymer from Master Grocers Australia said.

“It’s just not good enough. Our team is fearful to come to work.”

More than 800,000 incidents were recorded last year by the National Retailers Association.

“We’ve seen an almost doubling of violent incidents over the past three years,” Gerard Dwyer, the national secretary of SDA Union said.

Although, unions say there’s been some positive changes.

NSW, South Australia and Western Australia, have all increased penalties.

But major retailers are calling on the government to go one step further and introduce laws preventing known offenders from re-entering a store.

“Workplace protection orders have been shown to be effective in the ACT, we’ve seen a dramatic drop in repeat offenders,” Dwyer said.

“Facial recognition can be a part of this solution.”

The suggestion comes as Woolworths reveals the number of staff taking up the option of wearing body worn cameras is rapidly rising.

NSW Minister for Work Health and Safety, Sophie Cotsis, feels for the workers, especially the younger ones.

“For teenagers, this is their first job working in retail,” she said.

“To be abused, to be stalked, intimidated, is absolutely disgraceful.”

Retailers are hoping that change will come sooner rather than later.