Wagga service station robberies underline safety fears for staff

Josh Cullinan, the secretary of the Retail and Fast food Workers Union (RAFFWU), said that there had been safety issues for service station workers since "time immemorial" and they needed to be taken seriously.

"I worked for five years in service stations and I had security guards in pubs and clubs tell me how much safer their job was than mine," he said.

Mr Cullinan said that some employers still didn't understand the risk service station workers faced on a daily basis.

He argued that, at a minimum, staff should have ready access to the police, not be forced to work night shifts alone and have the ability to lock their doors, which he said was not always the case.

IN OTHER NEWS:

With today's technology, he said he didn't understand why any worker would be placed in danger.

"There are more than enough systems in place for purchases to be made at the pump, in fact those sorts of structures were being rolled out 20 years ago, but they appeared to have largely been abandoned, we think to encourage purchases in store," he said.

"Very many of the service stations rely heavily, or entirely, on the sale of goods in store."

Mr Cullinan wants to see a risk assessment conducted by Safe Work NSW to determine if current service station practices, such as allowing one staff member to be on shift late at night, or doors open to the public at night, are appropriate.

"That kind of care and concern for workers is non-existent," he said. "We're dealing with very large employers who pay lip service to the health and safety of their workers."

The type of people who work in service stations plays a role in the lack of safety provisions, Mr Cullinan said.

"They are often either young, or low socio-economic, or migrant workers, and we say that is a factor why these employers are not moving heaven and earth to put in place systems," he said.

Owner of Swift Service Centre Paul Seaman has been in the industry for 40 years and he doesn't understand why other service stations are open late into the night. "I can't see it being profitable," he said. "Where's the duty of care?"

Mr Seaman doesn't open his business past 5.30pm for safety reasons and he believes that if service stations went cashless and didn't sell cigarettes, they would see a reduction in robberies.

"They're big bright carrots in the middle of the night," he said. "That say 'come and rob me'."

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: