New nationwide campaign seeks to curb hostility against frontline workers
Industry groups across Australia have launched a nationwide campaign urging the public to be kind to workers ahead of a busy Christmas season.
The "Be Kind in Retail" campaign, launched on Wednesday, aims to combat alarming levels of abuse, violence, and the use of weapons against employees.
It comes from a collaborative effort by a coalition of industry groups, including:
"It's really pleasing to launch the 'Be Kind in Retail' campaign with our partners from the retail, pharmacy, fuel and convenience, security and cleaning industries, with a simple message for the community to be kind and show respect in our retail environments this Christmas," said SCCA chief executive Angus Nardi in a statement.
"Any incident that causes harm to someone is simply tragic, and we are calling on the community to help stamp out needless aggression and violence against workers in retail settings."
According to the coalition, the campaign will post the simple message of "Please be kind to our security officers, cleaners, and retail workers" in advertisements on digital and print media.
The message will be shown in more than 3,500 digital screens in over 300 participating shopping centres and retail precincts across Australia. It will run until December 24, 2024.
"Australia's retailers employ 1.3 million people, a lot of them being young Australians, and it is essential that all retail workers are free of abuse and violence in their workplace," said NRA acting CEO Lindsay Carroll in a statement.
The campaign comes amid growing reports of abuse against frontline employees, especially in the retail sector, as of late.
Data from the Australian Retailers Association last year found that more than 92% of retailers have experienced or have had a team member experience verbal or physical assault while at work.
To prevent rising retail abuse, various state governments across Australia have begun introducing legislation to crack down on such behaviour.
