Scotland's public workers under attack
Scotland's public workers under attack
New figures reveal assaults on Scotland's health and local government staff over the last three years show no evidence of decline, according to UNISON Scotland. The union obtained figures from Scotland's local authorities and health boards that show that the level of violent attacks on Scotland's public servants has remained more or less constant over the last three years, with around 20,000 attacks reported in 2003, 22,500 in 2004 and 21,500 last year. UNISON organiser Dave Watson said: 'These figures show that until we can get employers to take the threat of violence to their staff seriously, all the positive advertising campaigns in the world cannot have the impact they should.' He added that available data were 'inconsistent'. The union used Freedom of Information requests to obtain these local authority and health board data. UNISON is calling for five measures to address the ongoing violence problem. It wants awareness campaigns to be maintained, measures to ensure policies are introduced and implemented, effective monitoring of violence, preservation of the under-threat Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme for workplace victims and the strengthening of criminal law to deal better with perpetrators. The union also wants Scotland's Emergency Workers Act extended to protect more workers.
- UNISON Scotland news release and full report [pdf].
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