- Thug throws scooter at Woolworths worker
- The man also kicks and punches an employee
- READ MORE: Woolworths brawl
Footage has captured the wild moment an irate Woolworths customer threw a scooter at a worker in a horrific attack.
The video shows the scooter being thrown away by a hooded thug after being told to leave one of the supermarkets.
The object caught the young worker in the head, leaving him bent over in pain.
The incident is just one of many recorded at supermarkets as store staff are targeted by abusive customers in the run-up to Christmas.
A young Woolworths worker doubles over in pain after being hit by a thrown metal scooter (pictured on the floor)
In another clip, a man jumped behind the sales counter before viciously punching and kicking an employee curled up in a corner.
A third video showed the moment an irate customer threw a grocery item directly at another employee's head after a confrontation.
Rising violence against staff has prompted Brad Banducci, CEO of Woolworths Group, to invest in better CCTV coverage and increase staff training on how to deal with aggressive customers.
In other reported attacks, a Woolworths worker had a car door slammed on his head in a car park, while another staff member took advantage and then had a Coke can thrown at his head because he could not withdraw more than $200 from the till.
Mr Banducci said there has been a 50 per cent increase in violent and abusive incidents in Australia's Big W, Woolworths and Metro stores since July 1 compared to the same period last year.
This amounts to 2,000 incidents, which amounts to an average of 420 per month.
Alarmingly, incidents involving weapons have even occurred.
“Over the past two weeks, team members have been punched and spat at, and other recent incidents have included threats with a range of weapons from baseball bats, iron bars to knives,” Brad Banducci, CEO of Woolworths Group, said. the Daily Telegraph.
'We are also seeing aggression and violence against our home deliverers, with a driver recently pulled out of his truck at gunpoint.'
Mr Banducci said aggressive and violent acts towards his staff have noticeably increased since the Covid pandemic.
This has led to a security upgrade across all stores, with $40 million spent on more extensive CCTV.
Staff will also receive more face-to-face training in resilience and de-escalation, as well as virtual reality training for common aggressive situations.
A Woolworths customer throws a grocery item at an employee's head after a confrontation
Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees' Association NSW secretary Bernie Smith labeled abuse and violence against retail workers an 'epidemic'
“There have been stabbings, ax attacks and beatings in major stores,” he said.
Big W store manager Rohan Dennis, who works at the Eastgardens shopping center in Sydney's eastern suburbs, said the aggressive behavior from customers was the “worst he had ever seen” and was getting worse in the run-up to Christmas.
“Our team members are simply doing their job and following their process, but unfortunately this is sometimes met with aggression, abuse with vulgar language and sometimes threats that can be destructive,” he said.