New proposal wants to introduce a tax to self-service checkouts

A NEW policy being proposed in the UK promises to fix a giant issue caused by self-service checkouts. But could it work here in Australia?

ON MONDAY, a German backpacker in Bundaberg, Queensland pleaded guilty and was fined $100 for stealing bacon, mince and cheese from Woolworths after only scanning a portion of his items.

And while that theft may be at the low end of the scale, last year, a Queensland mum was given a suspended sentence for an elaborate self-service checkout scam that enabled her to steal $4500 in groceries from Coles and Woolworths using photocopied barcodes from two-minute noodles.

Such scams are responsible for a large portion of the $9.3 billion Aussie retailers lose to theft annually, and highlight a huge problem for self-service checkouts.

Theft isn’t the only issue caused, with the loss of human jobs another glaring problem.

But that is a problem faced by many industries as technological advancement puts many jobs in jeopardy. In fact, robots and artificial intelligence are expected to put as many as two in five Australian jobs at risk over the next decade from a trend which experts have dubbed “the fourth industrial revolution”.

According to the Committee for Economic Development of Australia (CEDA) in its report Australia’s Future Workforce, five million roles in Australia — including traditional jobs once considered safe — are expected to be lost to technology over the next 13 years.

These alarming statistics highlight the need for something to be done to deal with the changes caused by automation.

One idea to tackle the self-service checkouts which is currently being proposed in the UK is the introduction of a tax.

Members of the Labour Party argued a levy should be imposed on supermarkets because the loss of jobs to self-service checkouts reduces tax contributions to the government.

A typical self-service set-up costs around $158,000.

“The purpose of the motion was to argue that self-service tills remove tax revenue as it means less job and less workers paying tax,” Secretary of the St Ives Constituency Labour Party Kate Shilson told The London Economic. “It’s a tax to cover the cost of less revenue ... I refute claims this is a bonkers proposal.”

The proposal is fitting given the number of self-checkout terminals worldwide are projected to reach around 325,000 by 2019 — up from 191,000 in 2013. But it is likely supermarkets would be less than impressed with the concept in the light of the expensive costs associated with putting the machines in place.

According to The Conversation, a typical set-up costs around $158,000, with further expenses coming from integrating the machines with software used by the retailers to track inventory and sales. There is also the ongoing costs of maintenance.

Coles and Woolworths have previously said the introduction of the technology hasn’t seen a decrease in staff, as checkout workers have been redeployed to other parts of the supermarket — something that was also mentioned in the report.

Another solution to combat job losses and theft caused by self-service checkouts is banning technology from stores entirely.

Last year, manager of customer engagement at the Adelaide’s Finest Supermarket chain Paul Mabarek said his store refused to introduce self-service checkouts after speaking with customers.

“We’ve asked them and they are unequivocal. They like what we do. We have received nothing but support by having service at the checkouts,” he told news.com.au.

“One of our marks of success is that we employ more staff, not less staff, because there’s a fundamental belief that if you improve your service and are in tune with customer’s expectations, they will support you.”

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