‘No One Deserves A Serve’ campaign
‘No One Deserves A Serve’ is national campaign run by the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association (SDA), with the support of the National Retail Association and Australian Retailers Association.
The campaign draws attention to the amount of physical and verbal abuse members of the public are directing at retail and fast food workers – 85 per cent say they’ve experienced abuse while at work.
The campaign is calling for customers to be more aware of the wider impact of abuse and more courteous to workers.
With 44% of workers in a survey conducted by the SDA stating the abuse they had experienced had impacted on their mental or physical health, this campaign is important and timely.
Mental health – it’s looking more common
Mental health has numerous causes, and is one of the most significant issues facing young Australians, with evidence suggesting three-in-four adult mental health conditions emerge by age 24. Rest has also experienced an increase in insurance claims caused by mental health issues during the past four years.
In the 12 months to 30 June 2016, mental health was the primary cause of around 14 per cent of TPD claims lodged by Rest members. In the 12 months to 30 June 2019, it had increased to 20 per cent.
This is a 43 per cent increase.
Likewise, mental health was the primary cause of 12 per cent of IP claims in the 12 months to 30 June 2016. This rose by a third to 16 per cent in the 12 months to 30 June 2019.
1SDA survey December 2018, https://national.sda.com.au/saferstores/
2'Youth mental health report: Youth Survey 2012-16', Mission Australia and Black Dog Institute, 2017, page 7, https://blackdoginstitute.org.au/docs/default-source/research/evidence-and-policy-section/2017-youth-mental-health-report_mission-australia-and-black-dog-institute.pdf?sfvrsn=6