A spike in aggression toward staff has led Woolworths to call for workplace protections to be “urgently” bolstered.
The supermarket giant said violent attacks on its employees are again on the rise, urging the New South Wales government to fast-track protection laws.
It comes after 2025 saw 1,400 violent incidents reported in NSW alone.
Those figures reflect a five per cent increase from the year before, with 88 incidents involving knives.
Woolworths released troubling footage highlighting some of the acts it says are putting staff at risk.
In particular, violent acts involving knives are becoming more prevalent.
(9News)Woolworths shares shocking incidents of abuse
In one example, a 55-year-old worker has a glass jar smashed over his head. He suffered extensive injuries and is “still recovering”.
Months earlier, a staff member at the same Goonellabah store, in northern NSW, was subjected to verbal abuse before being dragged by the hair.
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In another case, a staffer was attacked as he attempted to escort youths from a store.
Woolworths Head of Acts of Violence and Aggression, Sarah Faorlin, branded the rise “horrific”.
“Enough is enough, our team are fed up,” Faorlin told 9News.
“We’re calling on the NSW government to urgently expedite the implementation of workplace protection orders.”
Woolworths is calling for greater workplace protections as aggression toward its staff rises again.
(9News)New workplace protection laws in the pipeline in NSW
Bernie Smith, secretary of the NSW branch of the Distributive and Allied Employees’ Association, told 9News the incidents were “completely unacceptable”.
Yet, he added, they were the kind of experiences members encountered daily.
Laws that would allow persistently abusive customers to be banned from re-entering stores are being pushed by retail workers and unions as a way to tackle escalating violence and intimidation in the sector.
The main reform being discussed in NSW is the introduction of Workplace Protection Orders (WPOs), which would allow retailers to seek legally enforceable bans against people who repeatedly abuse, threaten or assault staff.
Similar schemes already operate in the ACT and South Australia, and Western Australia is moving to adopt them
The ACT has recorded a 92 per cent reduction in reoffending.
“WA is about to adopt these, and it’s time that NSW does as well,” Smith said.
The NSW Government said it is working through the issue.
“We’re hoping we can introduce legislation sometime this year,” Minister for Work Health and Safety Sophie Cotsis said.
The proposed reforms would give retailers stronger powers to exclude customers who repeatedly engage in threatening, abusive or violent behaviour, bringing NSW more closely into line with measures already operating in other jurisdictions.
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