Unison calls on Scottish government to end violent attacks on public sector staff

Public services union, UNISON, is urging the Scottish government to take action to tackle the "massive scale of the problem of violence against public sector workers".

The union's annual Violence at Work survey reveals there has been a further increase in reported assaults on public service workers - but the union is warning this could just be the "tip of the iceberg".

Scott Donohoe, UNISON Health and Safety Committee Chair, said:

"Violent attacks on public service staff have more than doubled in the last decade - but the numbers keep on rising."

UNISON's 2017 survey showed there were 42,421 assaults reported in the most recent year - an increase of 1,255 compared withe the overall figure of 41,166 in 2016.

But Mr Donohoe says he believes the true number could be much higher, saying:

"There are still public sector employers for which low figures and poor information on the issue suggests we still face a good deal of under-reporting."

He added:

"The massive scale of the problem of violence against public sector workers - including those in the community and voluntary sector - has slowly begun to emerge over the last decade.

"It is now time for action by employers and stronger legislation, regulation and oversight by government to end the epidemic."

• Unison
• workers