Stop Shop Abuse campaign: Former Kmart employee relives brutal customer attack
Six years after being punched at work, Kmart worker Christine Smith still has nightmares about the brutal assault. Retail chiefs are demanding urgent action to stem escalating store violence.
Six years after Kmart worker Christine Smith was punched and knocked to the floor by a shopper, she still has flashbacks to the incident.
“I cannot help but think about it, especially when I am at work,” Ms Smith said.
“I see kids come in and think ‘is this it?’.”
Now the chief executives of 22 of the nation’s major retailers are calling for tougher laws to be rolled out across all states and territories to protect shop workers.
NSW introduced tougher penalties for assaults on shop workers after Ms Smith, 71, was hit by a young woman after she put her hand on her trolley to check her receipt.
She says they do not go far enough.
The attack in 2019 left her with two black eyes and in need of months of physio and psychological therapy.
But even though she has physically recovered, in the middle of the night, the flashbacks return.
“We need these tougher laws,” Ms Smith said.
“The woman who punched me appealed and got off. There were no consequences.”
Weapon-related violence on shop workers skyrocketed by 66 per cent last year according to online reporting platform Auror, which recorded 800,000 instances of assault and abuse nationally. Violent events were up 30 per cent.
The nation’s major retailers have written to Victorian Premier Jacinta calling for the introduction of Workplace Protection Orders (WPO) to prevent known offenders from re-entering a store, dedicated police taskforces for retail crime in each state, and a digital platform to report non-urgent offences.
They have called for federal Attorney-General Michelle Rowland to co-ordinate with the states to roll those out nationally.
Coles chief executive Leah Weckert said “unfortunately acts of abuse and threatening behaviour continue to rise” except in South Australia, which already has some of the tougher measures in place.
“We have been working hard to address this issue and create a safe environment for our team and customers,” she said.
“However, despite record investment in technology, security guards, and de-escalation training, these unacceptable incidents continue to occur.”
Woolworths chief executive Amanda Bardwell said team members “are part of the fabric of their communities – neighbours or friends and family” and should not face acts of violence at work.
“We’ve increased security measures, including upgrading CCTV and issuing body-worn cameras and personal safety alarms, and increased team training, emphasising that if ever our team members feel in danger, they should de-escalate and stay safe.”
But it was not enough and Ms Bardwell backed the campaign for tougher laws to be rolled out nationally.
Shopworkers Union national secretary Gerard Dwyer supported the call for reform in the wake of its own survey of members that found physical violence from customers had escalated by almost 50 per cent in the past two years.
“The SDA congratulates News Corp for shining a spotlight on a problem that has now become a plague,” he said.
“This is an epidemic requiring action by us all – retail workers, retailers, shopping centre owners, government and community.”
Super Retail Group chief executive Anthony Heraghty congratulated News Corp for helping to focus on “a significant national problem” and said these were never victimless crimes.
“It is unacceptable that retail workers across Australia are facing an escalating tide of abuse, threats and physical assaults.
“These are not just statistics – they are our colleagues, friends, and family members who deserve to feel safe and respected at work,” he said.
QUT Business School consumer behaviour expert Professor Gary Mortimer said his research found the increase in aggression was being reflected across society. The impact was being felt directly by shopworkers.
“It increases emotional exhaustion which leads to job stress which then leads to workers wanting to leave the business or frontline roles,” he said.
Part of the problem was that customers attacked the uniform and did not identify the worker as a person.
“Workers having the words ‘I am a mum, a dad, a son or a daughter’ under their name tag helps humanise them and make them less open to abuse,” he said.
Megan Sheather, who works in the Woolworths Queanbeyan service area, has seen the abuse and assaults increase to a level that she says is “out of control”.
“Last night at BWS I heard a customer getting louder and louder saying the lady behind the counter was a ‘dumb c..t’ over and over again,” she said.
“I went over to him and said ‘do you have a mother?’.”
After the customer left the co-worker said she was OK.
“But it’s not OK,” Ms Sheather said.
“This is like domestic violence in the workplace. I just go home at night and cry.”
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