On 17 December 2010, the parents of Luke Adams were abused outside a court in Melbourne, Australia. The mother of the killer of Luke Adams berated the parents after her son received further time in jail.
SafetyAtWorkBlog touched on Luke Adams’ death in an article in 2009 in which we pointed out that several violent deaths had occurred in, and around, fast-food restaurants and yet there is little focus on the role of the restaurants in these incidents.
On 4 January 2011, the media is reporting that McDonalds has issued a security warning to its restaurants after a couple of violent robberies on its Victorian stores in the last few days.
Such acts in fast-food establishments are particularly worrying because of the young age of many workers in the sector. Over this holiday period in Australia, many teenagers experience their first “real” work in fast-food outlets and other than working very long shifts (that’s a different story) the experience should present them with a positive approach to work. Continue reading “Preparing for occupational violence in fast food outlets”