Sunday November 16th 2025
Ian Mullen, Katrina Baird and Kyle Bellamy of Unison City of Edinburgh Branch have called for action on violence against council staff
Written by Local Democracy Reporter, Joe Sullivan
More action is needed on violence against council staff as almost 5,000 instances were reported in the last year, according to a trade union.
The City of Edinburgh branch of Unison has launched a campaign calling for stronger action by the council against workplace violence, as well as better reporting of incidents.
It comes as concerns have been raised over the level of violence towards frontline council staff, including against those handling reports of homelessness and working in schools.
Labour council leader Jane Meagher called the figures ‘worrying’, and said the council is planning to take more action on workplace violence.
Union leaders say reporting of incidents has recently increased, and attribute some of the climb from 3,767 cases last year to 4,981 this year – data drawn from FOI requests to the council – to this.
But they say the situation needs to improve, with some staff feeling that the official reporting process is a waste of time.
Ian Mullen, branch health and safety officer, said: “We want to see a clear action by the employer, to put across that message that they are actively campaigning for zero tolerance towards workplace violence.”
The union has put together safety posters to be placed in council workplaces as part of the campaign, as well as pop-up displays that can be brought to various work sites.
The posters encourage staff to promptly engage with line managers to record violent incidents, while also explaining the reporting process.
Additionally, they suggest that staff could contact Police Scotland to make an incident report as well, and retain a record number from the interaction.
Councillor Meagher said: “It is important that all council workers not only feel safe in their place of work but supported to report and escalate incidents when they do occur and reassured that appropriate action will be taken.
“As a council, we have already made significant improvements in our process for staff to report and record incidents and are committed to doing more.”
She added that the council intended to work with the union in order to take action.
Kyle Bellamy, service conditions convener, said: “[The campaign] is very much an educational tool for our members, because it explains exactly what to do if there’s an incident.
“Follow these steps, knowing, for example, members are entitled to feedback on the outcome of any investigation into an incident.
“So making people aware not only of what they need to do in the event of an incident, but what the employer’s responsibilities are as well.”
Katrina Baird, service conditions officer at the branch, said members had been responsive to the pop-up displays when bringing them to various workplaces.
She added that three quarters of the violence against council employees was targeted at those working in the education sector.
Tweet Share on Facebook
