There has been another light bulb over the head moment at Retail management headquarters – this time it involves visiting nursing homes and retirement villages to prey on the vulnerable elderly for sales.
Some bright go-getter has decided to shortly send retail staff out in droves to community care facilities armed with Christmas catalogues, products and bags of cash along with sales targets to bring home the bacon for Post this Christmas.
Imagine – retail staff with mobile POS terminals and cash bags going from bed to bed in the local nursing home selling overpriced teddy bears in Santa hats – prying cash out of the hands of those in care management situations.
It’s just not right. You just can’t make this stuff up. It puts the elderly and unwell in vulnerable circumstances and presents a serious potential risk to the health and safety of our members.
UNION BANS MOBILE RETAIL SALES CALLS
This stupid decision was made without consulting with staff or their Union.
The Union will be meeting with Australia Post management shortly. In the meantime, ALL MEMBERS are advised NOT to attend any community care facilities until further notice.
We believe it is unethical – people residing in community care facilities are there for required rest, not to be hounded to spend their pensions on nic-nacs from the Christmas catalogue.
Concerningly, members entering such facilities could be exposing themselves to health risks and could potentially become vulnerable moving robbery targets – carrying cash and product with them in public.
Lastly, members have been requested to undertake these duties outside of normal working hours, including weekends, and members are already reporting that they have been asked to undertake these duties as a “community service”. There is no coverage in the work level standards for PMs or PSO/SPSO grade staff to be making mobile sales calls of a type – paid or unpaid.
Therefore, and in the absence of any genuine consultation to mitigate the above issues, your Union is directing all retail members to immediately cease any involvement in these unauthorised functions.
Any direction to undertake such duties is not lawful and should be refused and reported to the Union office immediately.
Members requiring any assistance or additional information should urgently contact Branch Organiser Elly Huttly on (02) 9893 7822.
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