The Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association (SDA), the National Retail Association (NRA), and the Shopping Centre Council of Australia (SCCA) have partnered in a new campaign for Christmas 2023 to combat the rising incidents of abuse and violence against retail workers, and to demonstrate a fresh shared commitment to an industry-wide approach on worker safety and retail crime.

With retail and fast-food workers increasingly subject to verbal abuse and harmful physical violence, the SDA, NRA and SCCA extended a plea to the broader community to “treat workers with dignity and respect”.

SCCA members will run the SDA’s ‘No One Deserves a Serve’ campaign ads for free nationally across digital media within shopping centres, and workers across small and large retailers will be encouraged to report all incidents of abuse, violence, and retail crime to police.

The ‘No One Deserves a Serve’ campaign, first launched by the SDA in 2017, encourages customers to treat retail workers with courtesy and respect.

The new Christmas 2023 campaign will be run across more than 3,100 digital screens, across 150+ shopping centres, home to over 28,000 retailers, from the start of November through the busy Christmas trading period, ensuring maximum in-centre exposure to an estimated 190 million consumer visits across the peak annual shopping period.

Participating shopping centre companies include: Dexus, GPT, Haben, Lendlease, Mirvac, Perron Group, QIC Real Estate, Scentre Group, Stockland and Vicinity Centres.

Angus Nardi, Chief Executive of the SCCA said: “We are pleased to be partnering with the SDA and NRA to roll-out the ‘No One Deserves a Serve’ campaign across our centres to combat the worrying trend of rising assaults and violence towards retail staff. I am proud our industry has come together with a fresh commitment to address abuse and violence against workers and rising retail crime.”

In partnering to roll-out the Christmas 2023 ‘No One Deserves a Serve’ campaign in shopping centres the SDA, NRA and SCCA have also made a fresh shared commitment to work together, and partner with governments, to address the society-wide issue of abuse and violence towards workers and rising retail crime.

This new partnership will address the following key pillars:

1. Ensuring that retail and fast-food workers and retailers report incidents of abuse and violence and retail crime to police;
2. The need for Governments to review deterrence and enforcement policies particularly in relation to potential and recidivist offenders, and aggravated assault;
3. Ensuring technology can be used in an appropriate manner to deter offenders, prevent abuse, violence and crime, and to assist law enforcement; and
4. Enhanced information sharing and collaboration between retailers, shopping centres and government agencies to improve community safety.

Gerard Dwyer, National Secretary of the SDA said: “Customer abuse and violence is a serious workplace health and safety issue for retail workers across Australia. Research shows that more than 85% of retail workers report being abused on the job with young workers, women and workers from diverse backgrounds being disproportionately singled out for mistreatment. Retail workers are under more stress and pressure during the Christmas season – we’re asking all shoppers not to take out their festive frustrations on the workers who are there to help make your shopping experience a pleasant one.”

Lindsay Carroll, Deputy CEO of the NRA said: “Retailers employ 1.3 million retail staff in Australia, and staff need to feel safe and protected in their workplace. We as an industry are jointly calling for policy reforms to clearly demonstrate that any abuse towards retail employees will not be tolerated. It is critical we demonstrate to offenders that they ‘are not welcome’ if they intend to abuse, assault or harm anyone.”