MSP in law bid to protect frontline workers

[TrueBlueTerrier]

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/polit ... -21894161/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

SHOP staff, postmen and bus and train drivers could be given the same protection as 999 workers under a new bill by a Labour MSP.

Laws to protect frontline hospital staff from violence would be extended to all workers who face the public in Hugh Henry's bill.

The Paisley South MSP said: "It is not just of workers assaulted in the course of their duty and I am determined to help these workers who do so much for us all." The Emergency Workers (Scotland) Act 2005 was brought in to give mercy crews legal protection from violence at work.

The act makes it an offence to assault, obstruct or hinder an emergency worker and carries a maximumpenaltyofninemonths in jail, a £5000 fine, or both.

Henry said: "This law excluded many of Scotland's other highly vulnerable public service workers who, while working in public-facing occupations, are exposed to being attacked by a mindless minority.

"Current laws and public attitudes need to change. A new Bill adequately punishing those who attack a public service worker is crucial."

In December 2008 a Glasgow postman was attacked by a man with a 3ft samurai sword.

And in April 2008 two Scottish Water workers were attacked by two men wielding machetes. Henry will launch his Workers (Aggravated Offences) (Scotland) Bill this week and has the backing of several trade unions.

Unite spokesman Harry Copeland, a Glasgow Subway station master, said: "The only way to reduce the number of attacks on public servants is by including everyone who works at the public face in the bill."

There were 25,000 assaults on public sector staff in 2008-9.

[brothermagrew]

FOREWORD BY HUGH HENRY MSP
Workers (Aggravated Offences) (Scotland) Bill
Violent physical assaults against workers serving the public in Scotland are an all too common phenomenon. While progress has been made in strengthening criminal penalties for assaults against some workers, too many still lack sufficient protection at work.

In 2005 the Emergency Workers Act introduced tougher criminal penalties for those who assault, hinder or obstruct specified emergency service workers in the course of their work. While there is no doubt this constitutes progress and that there is widespread support for this Act, there is recognition that many other workers who provide a service to the public are not covered. It is legitimate to ask why a nurse would be covered but a bus driver would not be? After all if a bus service is withdrawn as a result of an assault a whole community suffers – not just the driver, similarly shop closures due to persistent attacks on staff can leave whole communities isolated. If a train driver is assaulted there is a danger to passengers and the public as well as a potential loss of service. There are countless examples of workers who provide vital public services who are vulnerable because of their occupation. And many of these examples demonstrate how the wider public could be adversely affected by the withdrawal of services following an assault.

The Emergency Workers Act 2005 sought to provide additional protection to certain groups of workers by introducing tougher penalties for those found guilty of assaulting, hindering or obstructing those workers. This proposed legislation seeks to apply the protections contained within the Emergency Workers Act to any worker who provides a face to face service to the public.

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/s3/bi ... evised.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/s3/bi ... PFinal.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[norbert]

long overdue

10865_201530372938_646422938_3254673_4749926_n.jpg

[brothermagrew]

Agreed norbert clearly Scotland appears to be miles ahead of the rest of the UK in introducing legislation that is of benefit to the workforce.

[brothermagrew]

No. 840/09 Ref P17 Date: 25 September 2009

To: All Branches

Dear Colleagues

Workers (Aggravated Assaults) (Scotland) Bill - Public Consultation Document - CWU Response
Please find attached the response of the Communication Workers Union in relation to the public consultation document issued by Hugh Henry MSP in relation his proposed Workers (Aggravated Assaults) (Scotland) Bill.

Work-related violence is emerging as one of the greatest concerns in the workplace today. Violence at work has received increasing interest over the last decade. High profile cases have been reported in the media and publicity. Trade Unions including the CWU have campaigned to raise awareness of the issue among the general public, the media, employers, police and the government, calling for initiatives to reduce risks of violence in the workplace and laws to deal with the perpetrators of violence.

The British Crime Survey placed Postal Workers in highest 'Risk of violence at work' categories and the survey found the elementary administration and service occupations, which include waiters, bar staff, traffic wardens and postal workers, were significantly more likely to be concerned about violence at work than many other groups.

Physical attacks are obviously dangerous as violence causes physical harm and injury, pain, distress, disability or even death. Serious or persistent verbal abuse can also be a significant problem too, as it can cause damage to our people’s health through stress, anxiety, fear and depression.
Experiencing violence at work cannot only cause physical injuries but also have emotional consequences for victims. This and worry about workplace violence may impact upon people’s physical and mental health and general wellbeing. Assaults lead to sick leave, loss of productivity, low morale and loss of confidence and can also affect people's ability to do their job.

Within the context of the UK's Health, Work and Wellbeing Program and the health promoting workplace advocated by the European Union in the Luxembourg Declaration on Workplace Health Promotion, Work-related violence provides an emerging challenge. Workplace violence is thus becoming a priority issue for many governments, trade unions and employers. Public awareness and perception of work-related violence has shifted and rightly so employers, governments and enforcers have moved it higher up the health and safety agenda as perceptions of the issue have become more all-encompassing.

The nature of the job done is positively associated with the likelihood of violence. Postal and Telecommunication workers fall in to the high risk group as a result of ‘Out of hours’ working, 'Singleton/loan working' and performing jobs in direct contact with customers/ members of the public which leads to violence, or creates the perception/fear of violence. Our members have the right to expect to be able to go about their work without the fear of assault, threat of intimidation. Nothing is more important to the CWU than the safety and well being of our people. This bill, if it becomes law will help protect our people, while maintaining our Universal Service Obligation. While the risk of assault on our people is generally low in comparison to the size of the workforce, attacks do occur and have been increasing and one more is one too many. Extra precautions and protection are needed.

Due to the growing number of assaults and the severity of the attacks in a number of cases, the CWU led a two year campaign to force Royal Mail to take the issue seriously and to introduce a Violence at Work Policy and Threat Risk Assessment process aimed at our Delivery workforce.

Scotland took the lead on protecting emergency workers in the UK when it passed the Emergency Workers (Scotland) Act in 2005, making it a criminal offence to assault or impede certain classes of emergency workers and subsequently took matters a step further when it extended the legislation adding to the personnel protected under the act. (Police, fire fighters and ambulance personnel, prison officers, coastguards, lifeboat crew, registered medical practitioners, registered midwives and registered nurses.)

The legislation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland is less generous and more limited, applying only to public sector workers when responding to an emergency. Although welcoming the protection afforded to those workers covered by the Emergency Workers (Scotland) Act the CWU was very disappointed that the legislation was narrowly defined and excluded other workers who were facing increasing levels of violence and abuse including Postal and Telecommunication workers. With surveys suggesting that despite the ongoing issue of under-reporting, the number of assaults on workers who work in face-to-face contact with the public continuing to rise, the CWU therefore very much welcomes MSP Hugh Henry's proposed Workers (Aggravated Assaults) (Scotland) Bill. Scotland is clearly taking the safety of health workers seriously. Since the Emergency Workers Act was introduced, there have been more than 1,000 prosecutions and 600 convictions.

The extension of protection for all workers working in direct contact with the public including Postal and Telecommunication workers is both welcomed and is needed. There is still much to be done, but the Workers (Aggravated Assaults) (Scotland) Bill keeps things moving in the right direction. We need to maintain the current momentum and hope that Scotland can lead the UK forward to a position where, as a society, we do not accept any form of abuse or violence towards those who serve us the public.

Those who breach this law should expect to be dealt with firmly by the courts. The Scottish government needs to ensure that this bill is supported and that the law does not overlook those who are central to delivery of communications. We want to see an increased level of awareness among staff and promote the reporting of all incidents - the message is "Report it – Don’t ignore it”. This helps local management to evaluate and monitor the true scale and nature of violence and abuse incidents and so helps to develop an effective policy to deal with the problem.

The CWU is therefore pleased to register its full support for the Workers (Aggravated Assaults) (Scotland) Bill proposed by Hugh Henry MSP for Paisley South.

Yours Sincerely
Dave Joyce
National Health, Safety & Environment Officer

CWU Response Workers (Aggravated Assaults) (Scotland) Bill.doc

[brothermagrew]

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/busin ... B10-47.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

SPICe Briefing
Protection of Workers (Scotland) Bill

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/s3/bi ... introd.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Protection of Workers (Scotland) Bill (as introduced)