UNISON calls for action to reduce assaults on workers

UNISON Scotland has called for decisive action from public sector employers and the Scottish Parliament to reduce violent assaults on members in the course of their work.

A UNISON report on ‘Violent Assaults on Public Service Staff in Scotland’, presented to the union’s annual Health and Safety conference in Stirling, has found that more than 25,000 assaults on staff were recorded for the year 2008/09 (see website and click on health and safety).

Although the total is down on the previous year, UNISON is concerned that the overall number of assaults remains stubbornly high, and completely unacceptable. In particular, the total for local government has increased, although in health and other sectors, some reductions have been recorded.

Dave Watson, UNISON Scottish Organiser said, “A reduction in the headline figure on violence against staff is welcome – but any act of violence on a member of staff going about their business of providing vital public services is completely unacceptable. “To have over 25,000 in a year is shocking. And we are concerned at the continuing increased level of attacks on local government workers.

“It is clear that where rigorous monitoring and active preventative measures are in place, this has resulted in improvements.

“But some employers are clearly failing to monitor violent assaults effectively, and as a result are failing to do enough to protect their staff.”

The Centre for Healthy Working Lives has established a Task Group to develop best practice guidelines for reporting assault statistics for local government. The group, including representatives from CoSLA, some individual councils STUC and UNISON Scotland, expects to report soon.

UNISON’s local government branches will then seek negotiations in each authority on how the proposals are to be implemented.

UNISON Scotland is also campaigning for further legislation to protect public service workers. Dave Watson said, “We campaigned successfully for extensions to the provisions of the Emergency Workers Act 2006, which resulted in community health and mental health nurses being included. But more needs to be done.

“We want a broadening of the scope of the law to include other public facing staff, such as social workers, housing staff and traffic wardens".

UNISON Scotland will be working with Hugh Henry MSP on his proposed Workers (Aggravated Offences) (Scotland) Bill published in June.

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