The impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the health and safety in workplaces was well documented and expectedly significant.

Australia’s essential workers, many of whom are SDA members, continually had to adapt and adjust according to the changing recommendations and workplace practices introduced to curb the spread of the virus. The SDA’s 10 Point Safety Plans were critical in guiding HSR’s, SDA Delegates and members during a testing period.

There were also indirect impacts to workplace health and safety driven by the pandemic.

Customer violence and abuse increased exponentially at the beginning and throughout the peak of the pandemic in Australia.

According to the National Retail Association’s report into the health and wellbeing of retail workers, there was a sharp increase in customer violence and aggression, with some retailers reporting up to 400 per cent increase in aggression and abuse.

As a result, the No One Deserves A Serve campaign became about addressing the the impact of covid on the prevalence and nature of abuse and violence in the workplace.

Combatting customer abuse and violence became an important part of the SDA’s 10 point health and safety plans.

The SDA called for employers to:

• Increase security to assist with physical distancing measures, and abusive and aggressive customers.
• Take a zero tolerance approach to customer violence and abuse and publicly promote the SDA’s No One Deserves A Serve campaign to improve customer behaviour.

The SDA also conducted two surveys, one for employees and the other for employers to gauge the levels and nature of customer abuse and violence during the pandemic.

With almost every state experiencing mini lockdowns to control outbreaks, it was important that the union maintained strong, consistent messaging and acted early before panic buying and the associated issues occurred.

Thank A Supermarket Worker

The SDA’s ‘Thank a supermarket worker’ campaign celebrated the amazing and selfless efforts of our essential retail workers throughout the pandemic.

It was also launched to try and change the publics attitude and behaviour toward workers while shopping. A reminder to shoppers of the essential work they were doing on the frontline of the pandemic and the respect they deserved for putting their health and safety at risk.

Safety Demands Action Week is an annual event where the SDA dedicates an entire week to safety at the workplace.

A major aspect of safety for retail and fast food workers is related to their interactions with customers and that is why the No One Deserves a Serve campaign is a very important part of Safety Demands Action Week.

Watch our NODAS x Safety Demands Action Week video below:

The SDA regularly surveys retail, fast food and warehouse workers to generate data on the nature and prevalence of customer violence and abuse.

The information collected via these surveys guides the Union’s response and helps identify the issues.

It also provides the Union with evidence of the abuse and violence and the experiences of members and workers.

Petitions are used to collect stories and anecdotes from SDA members and workers about their personal experiences of abuse and violence at work.

This provides members with a platform to tell their stories as well as gives the SDA greater insight into the issues beyond data and statistics.

The stories are also used in NODAS campaigns are are very powerful resources.

Petitions give members an opportunity to show their support for SDA campaigns and make a contribution to the Union’s work.

Member Stories

Many retail and fast food workers think abuse is just part of the job. But this is wrong.

It is a serious health and safety issue that can impact your mental and physical wellbeing. Your employer has a duty to provide a safe working environment. Being abused at work is a safety issue – just like slipping on a spill or being burned with hot oil.

We need workers to report incidents so there is a record of it happening when we approach employers about putting in place better protections for you.

If there are no reports of abusive or violent customers, they could just turn around and deny its existence, which makes any change for a safer store more difficult.

The process for reporting health and safety issues such as abusive and violent customer behaviour may be different depending on your employer and your store.

Find out the correct procedure in your store and when an incident occurs report it to your supervisor.

You should also report it to your SDA Health & Safety Rep or Delegate/Shop Steward and your Health & Safety Committee if your store has one.

Remember, you’re not alone. If you’re reporting incidents but don’t feel like you’re being appropriately supported, get in touch with the SDA for help.

Yes. You can report any safety issue or hazard that you see or experience, even if it doesn’t happen to you directly.

Reporting incidents creates a record of the abuse so we can push for better protections to make your store safer. If you don’t report it – it’s like it never happened.

When someone gets injured at work, you report it. If you were to slip from a spill on the floor at work, you would report it.

Being on the receiving end or seeing abusive or violent behaviour is a safety hazard. It can have a serious impact on the mental and physical health of you and your work mates.

That’s why you should report it. For you and for your work mates.