Retail workers to be granted extra protections

A shocking number of retail workers face abuse and assault every single day. The government has responded to this in a proposed bill that grants extra protections for employees and harsher penalties for perpetrators.

According to the NSW government, 85 per cent of retail workers have faced abuse or assault at work. The introduction of the Crimes Legislation Amendment (Assaults on Retail Workers) Bill 2023 aims to reduce these statistics.

As listed by the NSW government, the reforms will make it an offence to:

• Assault, throw a missile at, stalk, harass or intimidate a retail worker in the course of the worker’s duty, even if no actual bodily harm is caused to the worker, with a maximum penalty of four years imprisonment.
• Assault a retail worker in the course of the worker’s duty and cause actual bodily harm to the worker, with a maximum penalty of six years imprisonment.
• Wound or cause grievous bodily harm to a retail worker in the course of the worker’s duty, being reckless as to causing actual bodily harm to the worker or another person, with a maximum penalty of 11 years imprisonment.

NSW Premier Chris Minns said: “Everyone should be treated with decency and respect while at work. There is no excuse for assaulting anyone, particularly not someone who is doing their job.

“This bill reflects our government’s commitment to support our workers and ensure their safety in the workplace.”

Woolworths Group has come forward in support of these reforms, noting that there have been over 540 serious incidents across Woolworths Group’s NSW stores in the past year. In Australia, there have been more than 1,700 serious incidents at the same time.

Woolworths Group CEO Brad Banducci is pleased with the decision: “This is a significant day for our 50,000+ hard-working retail team members across New South Wales.

“While, by far, the vast majority of our customers are respectful, there is no avoiding the fact that retail worker abuse is on the rise. In response, we have been investing in a range of new measures to better protect our team against violence, threats and abuse.

“All retail workers across the industry have the right to feel safe at work. Many of our team work and live in their local community and deserve to be treated with kindness and respect.”

The aims of this amendment are to help everyone feel safe at work. During the pandemic, many retail workers were considered heroes as they were frontline workers.

Minister for Industrial Relations and Work Health and Safety Sophie Cotsis commented: “This type of offending causes enormous distress for the shop workers, their families and the wider community and can leave lasting emotional scars, as well as those caused by injury.”

“It’s crucial that people feel safe when going to work, and these changes will provide a deterrent for those who would behave in this manner to people trying to provide them with a service.”

Ms Cotsis continued: “I’ve heard firsthand from retail workers who have experienced terrible abuse, which has affected their working life; this legislation signals the government’s support for our workers and their safety.”