Protest takes place outside McDonald’s vaping policy is needed to stop smoking

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BY DR COLIN MENDELSOHN

THERE are daily media reports about Australia’s desperate battle with youth vaping and rampant black-market sales.

The current regulations on vaping have been aresounding failure.

Illegally imported disposable vaping products areflooding the market and youth vaping rates are skyrocketing.

Meanwhile,adult smokers are unable to legally access an effective substitute which could help them live longer and healthier lives.

Up to two in three continuing smokers will die from their smoking. Vaping nicotine is a way out.

Now, the federal government has admitted its mistakes and it working to change itsapproach to vaping regulation.

Vaping is one of the most effective quitting aids for smokers.

It is not completely safe -nothing is -but it is far lessharmfulthan deadly cigarette smoking

Recommending these products to adult smokers who just can’t quit is ano-brainer, and leads to substantial health improvements.

They should be at least as readily available as cigarettestoincentivise adultsmokersto switch.

Instead, Australian governments and peak health bodies are pursuing regulations which willfurther restrict legal access, under the guise that prohibitionist policies will stopyouth access.

This is apolicy objective at odds with basic logic and will inevitablymakethe present problems worse.

By LIAM DURKIN

ALLEGATIONS of sexualharassment led to a demonstration outsideMcDonald's Traralgon Central on Friday 17.

The rally, organised by the Retailand Fast Food Workers Union, was attended by McDonald's employees, who walkedoff the job earlier this month amid claims of sexual harassment.

The Saturday Age reported that Sarah Hudson, the shift manager at the time said employees walked off the job, and called police after not being able to get hold of senior management.

"No one was feeling safe," she told The Age "The crew and myself were in alot of distress." She closed the store, only to later be berated by asenior McDonald's manager for doing so.

Management then sent her aletter, directing her to ameeting to discuss concerns around what it felt amounted to "serious misconduct" for closing the restaurant without permission.

The letter also cited "impact (on) the restaurant’s profitability and reputation".

It is believed complaints of sexual harassment have been accumulating at the Traralgon store since early December.

The union responded by writing to McDonald's, who followed up by sending asecond letter to Ms Hudson and other staff who worked at the time thestore was temporarily shut. The Age reported the follow-up meetings were "not disciplinary in nature".

In astatement,the fastfood giantsaidsexual harassment had no place at McDonald’s.

“AllMcDonald’semployees completetraining in McDonald’sRespectfulWorkplace Policy and areexpected to uphold our values at all times," a spokesperson said.

"We encourage our employees to speak up and report any breach of our policy and values.

"McDonald’s takes these allegations seriously and will continue to work with the franchisee and relevant authorities.”

Staff issues at the 'Traralgon main Maccas' have almost certainly correlated with poor customer service experience recently.

Only afortnight ago, after a10pmfinish at work and with nothing else open, this writer found himself waiting 20 minutes in the drive-thru for what one would consider astandard order.

While theremay have been reason to become agitated, upon peeringthrough the window, it was clear the store appeared to be drastically understaffed -the staff member taking the order at the first window also served food at the last.

Following Friday's rally, the Retail and Fast Food Workers Union praised those forcoming forward.

"The communityrally against sexual harassment at McDonald's Traralgon was huge," it posted online.

"The solidarityfromother unionswas fantastic

"The young workers of McDonald's heard loud and clear that workers will support them and believe them.

"This was only the second protest by workers against McDonald's in Australian history, and follows the action in Brisbane in January 2019 when McDonald's coerced children."