Jacinta Allan has used her first Labor state conference as Victorian premier to announce plans to change the law to better protect retail, hospitality and other customer-facing workers from abuse and assault amid reports of a surge in violence.
In her speech to party faithful at Moonee Valley Racecourse on Saturday, Allan detailed plans to introduce tougher penalties for people who assault, threaten or intimidate workers.
Allan said it was an issue she had experienced firsthand when she worked behind a supermarket service counter during her university studies.
“Most of the time it was fine but every so often you would get a customer barking demands, willing to shout at you or call you names – particularly if you got the wrong pack of red, green or blue Winfields,” she said.
“But in all seriousness,0 that aggression and violence towards customer-facing workers – we know [it has] only gotten worse.”
Allan introduced the crowd to Shefali Batta, a supermarket worker who migrated to Australia from India to study, and was confronted by a customer armed with a knife during a shift last year.
“Shefali said she was terrified, convinced would die. She told me that in that moment, the first worry was how difficult it would be for her family to bring her back home,” Allan said.
She said Shefali’s story was not unique, citing a survey by the Victorian branch of the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees union (SDA) which last year found 87% of workers had experienced abuse from customers in the past year.
When compared to a 2021 survey of members, the reports of physical violence against workers had increased by 56%, Allan said.
“These laws will send a strong message if you think workers are there to absorb your aggression, your threats or intimidation and you will regret your actions because Victorians like Shefali should not have to work in fear. They deserve nothing but respect,” she said.
Allan said the government will convene a “worker protection consultation group”, consisting of unions, police, industry representatives and retailers to oversee the development of the laws.
The group will consider new penalties or offences, as well as how existing offences could be expanded or strengthened to protect these vulnerable workers. It will also consider protections against stalking, harassment, or intimidation towards workers.
She said the bill will be introduced to parliament by the end of 2025 and will complement work underway to strengthen the state’s anti-vilification laws, with many reports of abuse against workers relating to the worker’s ethnicity, race or cultural background.
The move was welcomed by Batta and SDA secretary Michael Donovan.
Donavan said NSW and SA had both introduced jail terms for people convicted of assault of a retail worker that should form a model for Victoria’s laws.
“We’ve seen our members pushed, punched, spat on, [had] things thrown at them, had their lives threatened and … stabbed. This sort of outbreak of violence and abuse has to be stopped,” he said.
Batta said she was not seriously injured and returned to work about a month after the attack but in a new role away from customers.
“It took really good courage to overcome that situation. It wasn’t easy,” she said.
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, also addressed the conference to promote Tuesday’s federal budget.
He announced Victorian will be the “host jurisdiction” for a “national labour hire licensing scheme”.
“No more second-class status for labour hire workers,” he said.
“This is what Labor governments do. We deliver growth and fairness, more jobs and better wages.”
