Fast food and retail workers facing epidemic of customer abuse for Christmas

It is not the fault of retail and fast food workers if a product is not in stock. Check your behaviour and thank them instead of adding to the epidemic of customer abuse, writes Bernie Smith.

Opinion: Peace and goodwill to all? In the midst of the Christmas shopping rush retail and fast food workers are facing an epidemic of customer abuse and violence.

A recent survey of 4600 retail and fast food workers by our union, the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association (SDA), found that close to 80 per cent of them had been subject to verbal abuse regularly.

Nearly 10 per cent reported being spat on by customers and, most disturbingly, there was a 50 per cent increase in acts of violence in just two years.

The Retail Employee Safety Council – a body bringing together the SDA, employers and government – notes a 56 per cent increase in workers compensation claims for workplace violence since 2018.

In Victoria alone, 19,000 incidents were recorded in the past 12 months. We need to shine a spotlight on this scourge.

Since 2016 the SDA has been campaigning for change through our No One Deserves A Serve campaign.

We started by raising awareness and our members report that signs and badges have had an impact, but clearly more needs to be done.

SDA national vice president Bernie Smith. Retail and fast food workers are doing their best to help you. Picture: NewsWire/John Appleyard

The SDA has lobbied state and territory governments to criminalise abuse and assault of retail and fast food workers – to elevate the penalties to those applying to other essential frontline workers.

We welcome the lead taken by Premier Peter Malinauskas in South Australia and then by Premier Chris Minns in NSW to push the required legislation through their parliaments.

In NSW since these laws were passed 100 people have been charged for abusing or assaulting retail workers and more than 40 have been convicted.

We are pleased that Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan has made a similar public commitment and, given the extent of this epidemic in her state, urge her to act expeditiously to get similar legislation on the books.

What else can be done? States should also look at introducing Workplace Protection Orders which have been quite successful in keeping repeat offenders out of shops in the ACT.

The fact is customers should take a good hard look at their behaviour this Christmas.

It is not the fault of retail and fast food workers if a product is not in stock or not readily visible.

They are doing their best to help you. So check your behaviour before you check out this Christmas. Let’s bring peace and goodwill back into fashion and thank a retail worker instead.

Bernie Smith is Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association national vice president

Originally published as Fast food and retail workers facing epidemic of customer abuse for Christmas