I recently had an opportunity to catch up with Debbie, a long time SDA member.
Almost the first thing she said to me was “the SDA saved my life”, as she recalled a story from many years ago where she was traumatically attacked on her way to work.
She said the last thing she remembers seeing before leaving for work that day was an advertisement for counselling through the SDA.
And when she reached out for help from the SDA, she got it. She was immediately given free counselling sessions, while her area Organiser helped her establish a WorkCover claim and her return to work. She said an SDA Information Officer reached out to her every day to ensure she was coping.
Although Debbie was already an SDA member before the attack, she said it was that moment that truly highlighted the value of union membership for her.
Since then, she has been a loyal SDA member, and said:
“I have been a member for nearly 20 years and it has been my greatest pleasure in all my dealings with staff of the SDA.
I have felt secured, heard and supported with issues ranging from workplace bullying to a criminal event in which I needed counselling and continued support.
I have always appreciated their understanding and insight with each of the problems I have come to them with.
Finally I would recommend to anyone needing information or a friendly ear or a reassuring shoulder, the SDA are there for you and have always had my back.”
Our conversation also turned to some of the SDA’s ongoing campaigns. Debbie is particularly passionate about supporting young workers and is a strong advocate for the Adult Age Adult Wage campaign. She put it simply:
“If you can legally drive, if you can legally drink, if you can legally vote – you should be paid as an Adult.”
She shared the example of a 17-year-old she knows who regularly takes on supervisor duties in the deli and at the front end. Despite her age, she’s making adult decisions and handling serious situations like attempted theft, drug-affected customers, and abusive behaviour, yet she’s still not being paid the adult rate.
She also expressed strong support for the No One Deserves a Serve campaign. She’s noticed a significant increase in customer abuse and aggression in her area, especially since COVID.
She told me that everyone she works with, and everyone she knows who has worked in retail, has experienced some level of customer abuse.
This remains a serious issue for retail and fast food workers. The SDA continues to campaign for better training, stronger reporting systems, and increased support in response to customer abuse. In the meantime, I encouraged her to keep reporting any incidents she experiences or witnesses. If it can’t be reported within the store, she should always report it to the SDA.
I will leave you with the wisdom Debbie shares with young people who start working at her store:
“I ask them, do you have health insurance? Yes? So why wouldn’t you have insurance for your job?”
By Justin Power
SDA Branch Secretary