Home care workers call for protection after revealing terror on solo night shifts

Home care workers in Scotland’s biggest city have revealed their terror working alone at night.

They described their fear when working at night in Glasgow and detailed a catalogue of threats, abuse and assaults.

Scores of workers demonstrated outside the City Chambers, in George Square, last night [THURSDAY] to call for greater protection.

The rally, organised by GMB Scotland, one of the biggest unions in Scotland’s public sector, heard staff describe how dark streets, isolation and threatening men cause them fear and alarm.

Wilma Telford, who has worked in home care for 18 years, said: “It has always been a worry when you are out alone, niggling at the back of your mind, but things have got a lot worse.

“There are incidents in every area, all the time. You walk between visits at night on edge, holding onto your phone in your pocket, looking around to see if anyone is behind you.

“It can be dark and deserted and you feel totally alone. It preys on your mind.”

One of her colleagues described being approached by a man while working on Sunday. She said: “He came out of nowhere, right in my face, asking for money. It felt like a mugging.

“I told him I had none and tried to walk past but he kept blocking me, so close he was almost touching me, asking if I had a bank card, saying we could go to a cash machine.

“I showed him the badge on my uniform, said I was working and pushed past him and got away but I was trembling. It is really upsetting.

“Another time, I was walking to a visit and this man passed me and said ‘Watch out you don’t get raped tonight.’

“It took me a second to take it in then I just started running. It shakes you up for hours.”

The safety campaign comes after a poll by GMB Scotland revealed 89% of the women felt scared while working alone while almost half had endured intimidation, abuse or violence while working.

One worker told the union: “I’ve had teenagers throwing fireworks at me, shouting abuse, and men will just stand and stare at you from top to bottom.”

A colleague told how she was parked at traffic lights at 7.30am in a quiet street when a man tried to break into her car window with a screwdriver.

Another worker said: “I was waiting in my car to go into flats one night and a gang started banging on the roof and shaking the car. I was terrified.

“You just feel relieved to get home in one piece.”

The union warned the stress of working alone is taking a toll on carers’ mental health and urged Glasgow Health and Social Care Partnership to take action to ease the risks, including pairing-up staff, providing more back-up and supervision, changing rotas, and providing pool cars.

Frances Stojilkovic, GMB Scotland’s home care convenor at Glasgow City Council, said the workers should no longer be asked to make visits alone at night without effective back-up.

She said: “The council seems very proud of the work being done to make women safer in the city but their own workers are being sent out to work alone late at night and not a word is said.

 “No one should be expected to go to work feeling afraid and return home relieved to be safe again.

“They need better protection and support and they need it urgently.”

Police figures recently exposed an increase in rape and sexual assaults in the city as GMB revealed a fifth of CCTV cameras were not working while lighting in many streets and lanes is inadequate.

John Slaven, GMB Scotland organiser at Glasgow City Council, said: “The real-life experience of our members in home care reveals alarming incidents are now commonplace.

“The risks are obvious, unacceptable and demand urgent, effective action.”