Kmart assault latest in ‘deeply concerning’ rise

An assault on staff at a Hamilton Kmart is the latest in a ‘‘deeply concerning’’ increase in antisocial and aggressive incidents against retail workers, Retail NZ says.

Police are investigating after staff at the Bryce St store were assaulted with kitchen tongs and had their hair pulled during an alleged attempted robbery on Saturday night.

Retail NZ chief executive Greg Harford said rates of abuse, aggression and violence towards retail workers were steadily increasing and deeply concerning.

‘‘Some of these incidents are allegedly connected with theft from stores, while others are related to issues such as Covid-19 restrictions imposed by the Government.’’

Store owners were investing in increased training for staff to manage difficult situations, improving cameras in store – including body cams, in some cases – and reporting issues to police, Harford said. ‘‘It is never okay to hurl abuse at staff, threaten them or assault them. Retail NZ is calling on everyone to shop nice, and stay calm if things don’t go quite right in store.’’

Harford said the coronavirus pandemic appeared to have made issues around poor customer behaviour even worse.

‘‘Retail workers are dealing with many thousands of incidences each year, where customers are aggressive, abusive or violent.

‘‘Reported rates doubled between 2019 and 2020, and have doubled again over the last year. The problem is growing, and has been significantly worse since Covid-19.’’

Similar trends had been noted in Britain, with calls for greater legal protections for shop workers.

One concern is the apparent protest tactic by some anti-mask campaigners to enter stores, get angry when asked to leave, then repeat the process at another store, creating a trail of upset workers.