Media Releases
Retail staff deserve more
2 March 2006
The Department of Labour has asked store owners in the new Westfield Queensgate plaza in Lower Hutt to improve facilities for retail staff, following complaints workers are having to eat lunch in their cars.
The Department’s health and safety service visited the plaza late last year, after a worker raised concerns about the lack of staff facilities.
Chief advisor, health and safety Mike Cosman said when inspectors investigated the complaint they randomly checked stores in the plaza.
“They were appalled at level of sub-standard facilities available to staff in many stores, most of them small or sole-charge operations,” he said.
“There were complaints that workers having to eat lunch in their cars because they weren’t allowed to sit anywhere in the plaza during their breaks, and a sole-charge kiosk worker having to take the cash register drawer with her when she needed to use the toilet.
“Workers also told them how the plaza’s policy is that staff can’t be seen to be sitting down at all during the day, and that workers can’t use the toilet if it means leaving the store unattended. This is not an acceptable situation for sole-charge employees, and neither is standing for many hours.”
Larger stores such as Woolworths and Farmers were the exceptions, he said, with good staff facilities.
Mr Cosman said all workers were entitled to minimum standards of comfort while on the job, and retail workers were no exception. Workers are entitled to a separate meal area, fresh cool drinking water and facilities for resting/sitting. First aid provisions and fire extinguishers are also required.
“The provision of minimum standards should be a given in this day and age,” he said. “This is about healthy and productive work environments, fair and decent working conditions and the protection of vulnerable workers.”
All the 130+ stores in the plaza were written to in February, asking them to improve the standard of staff facilities. Stores will be visited and assessed in early April - giving owners two months to bring facilities up to scratch. Further action may be taken if improvements aren’t made.
Facilities like a meal room might be difficult for some stores to provide, he said. “Communal facilities for staff, such as a shared meal area out of the public eye, are acceptable. Our advice is that leaseholds talk to the landlord about provision of shared facilities.”
Mr Cosman said this was a lesson for developers to factor-in facilities
for staff at the design stage.
Guidelines for employers on the provision of staff facilities is available
using the 'Ask a Question'
function.
To the journalist: please note that health and safety services formerly
referred to as Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) should now be referred
to as the Department of Labour.
ENDS
