McDonald's staffer uses grill scraper to hold off rowdy teens during late-night attack
Six teenagers, aged 13 to 17, have been charged in relation to the alleged attack at the Raymond Terrace McDonald's in NSW.
A young Aussie McDonald's employee is calling for better workplace protections after he was attacked by a group of rowdy and allegedly drunken teenagers while working a night shift earlier this month.
It was a normal night like any other for 22-year-old Khoby Dawson at the Raymond Terrace Macca's, in the NSW Hunter, when a group of youths allegedly attacked him from within the store after being asked to take what appeared to be alcohol outside.
The group then allegedly became agitating and started to verbally assault Dawson, before the situation escalated and it turned physical, with the group seen in CCTV footage throwing cutlery at four staff members. Dawson can then be seen trying to diffuse the altercation, but video shows the the group continued to make trouble.
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"They started getting up in my face and said 'do you want a fight?'" Dawson told 9 News. Several boys are seen on video throwing punches at Dawson, as he steps out in front of the counter to try and de-escalate tensions.
It's then when his co-worker Luke steps in wielding a grill scraper, coming to the defence of his colleague. "If [Luke] wasn't there I don't know what the outcome could've been," Dawson said.
"My manager was on the phone to [the police] the entire time [we were] trying to get them out, but they didn't arrive until 20-25 minutes after the fight. What are we supposed to do in that situation?"
In the wake of the incident Dawson — an apprentice plumber who works shifts at McDonald's for extra cash — said the fast-food giant needs better protections in place for workers.
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"I'd like to see changes to the policies and stuff allowing us to lock the front doors to stop a whole crowd of people coming in when we have limited staff on," he said. " It'll cost them more in the long run if someone gets injured worse than I got injured."
A spokesperson for McDonald's Australia said there are already "a number of safety" and security measures in place for staff.
"At McDonald’s, the safety and wellbeing of our people and customers is our top priority," the spokesperson told Yahoo News Australia.
"We have a zero-tolerance policy for anti-social behaviour and do not accept abuse, intimidation, threats or violence towards our employees or customers. McDonald’s Raymond Terrace has a number of safety procedures in place including 24-hour CCTV surveillance and alarm system, and recently introduced security guards on overnight shifts from Friday to Sunday.
"We will continue to provide our full support to crew and their families, as well as regularly review safety procedures to ensure the safety and wellbeing of our people and customers."
Six teenagers, aged 13 to 17, have been charged in relation to the alleged attack.
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