A McDonald’s worker is calling for better protection from the fast food giant after he was allegedly assaulted by a group of teenagers while on the job.
Khoby Dawson, 22, was allegedly set upon while at work at Raymond Terrace McDonald’s, in the Hunter region, two weeks ago.
The group became agitated after Dawson asked them to take what appeared to be alcohol outside.
They then allegedly threw cutlery at four staff members before Dawson stepped in to try and de-escalate the situation.
“They started getting up in my face and said do you want a fight,” Dawson told 9News.
The group can be seen on CCTV punching Dawson repeatedly as he steps out in front of the service counter.
His co-worker Luke then tries to intervene, swinging a grill scraper at the group to try and save his mate.
“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?”
Dawson is an apprentice plumber and only works weekend shifts at the fast food chain to make some extra cash.
Now, he’s calling on McDonald’s to provide better protection for staff following the alleged attack.
“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 security measures in place.
“McDonald’s Raymond Terrace has a number of safety procedures in place including 24-hour CCTV surveillance, alarm systems and security guards on overnight shifts from Friday to Sunday,” the spokesperson said.
Six teenagers, aged 13 to 17, have been charged in relation to the alleged attack.
