by Jordan Treloar & Lucas Holmes
Op shops around NSW are experiencing a shortage of numbers inside their stores due to the coronavirus epidemic removing a big portion of the industry’s workforce.
Summary
- Australian op shops and charities are experiencing a decrease in volunteer numbers throughout COVID-19
- The Salvation Army Family Store of Taree are experiencing increased foot traffic and sales since reopening in May
- Manager of the Family Store Danielle Volkers expects many of the procedures put in place for COVID-19 like Sneezeguards at the register and hand sanitiser upon entry will continue post COVID
Elderly and older people appear to be most at risk of contracting COVID-19 having made up the majority of cases and deaths around the nation. This meant that many volunteers for Australian charities had to stay at home, which Danielle Volkers, manager of the Taree Salvation Army Family Store says is the main impact for their operation.
“The main impact on us was our volunteer base and our elderly volunteers or our older volunteers, which really makes up the most of them,” Volkers, said.
“We could not use anybody over 70 or over 65 if they had some health issues. We could use a vulnerable worker risk assessment, they could sign that but it still meant that they couldn’t do any face-to-face work.
“I can still use some of our older volunteers in the rear of the store but the reason why they are out the front is that they are not able-bodied enough to do the tasks out the back.
“Even some of our paid workers just don’t feel safe or they are more comfortable staying at home.”
The Salvation Army Taree store was forced to close down at the beginning of April and reopened on the 19th of May, and has since had an increase in foot traffic and sales.
READ MORE: Op shops experience ‘Best Days Ever’ after restrictions ease
Staff protections such as sneezeguards at the counter and hand sanitiser upon entry for customers are among new procedures put in place due to COVID-19, and Volkers says that these might stay in place after restrictions ease.
“Masks and gloves might be a bit relaxed, but I still think there will be a lot of focus on hygiene and cleaning,” Volkers said.
“Even the things like the sneezeguards, I don’t think they will take those away either. Those sort of things make sense anyway, even if there wasn’t that sort of risk, just to help keep people generally healthy.”