GMB Scotland calls for more protection for public sector workers
The safety, pay, and conditions of GMB Scotland members in the public sector were front and centre on the third day of Congress in Blackpool.
The union’s policy-making conference, in the Winter Gardens, heard from Scots delegates on a range of issues facing workers from classrooms to hospital wards.
A series of powerful speeches from GMB Scotland delegates demanded better protection for staff in the public sector, including social care workers, pupil support assistants and NHS staff.
Delegate Liz Martin told Congress claimed care workers falsely accused of misconduct are “abandoned” during long-running inquiries while getting far too little support when they suffer violence or abuse.
She said: “Employers boast of safeguarding policies but those safeguards are for service users, families, and visitors. Staff are rarely mentioned.
“When incidents of violence and abuse against staff are investigated, the focus often turns to their approach, their tone, their behaviour, as if they somehow provoked the violence.
“That process is humiliating, distressing, and deeply unfair.
“We are not asking to weaken safeguarding. We are asking to balance it.”
A series of GMB Scotland speakers raised issues on Tuesday, the third day of Congress which ends tomorrow, including the failure to protect public service workers from violence and abuse; deliver effective training to help them in volatile situations; or properly encourage them to report incidents.
Congress backed calls for more protection of NHS staff after GMB Scotland led a debate on stronger safeguards for health service whistleblowers, mandatory anti-bullying training for managers, and greater transparency around allegations of workplace misconduct.
The union, one of the biggest in the public sector, said a survey of NHS workers revealed nearly one in five had experienced bullying, harassment or abuse in the last year while staff remain reluctant to raise concerns for fear of repercussions.
The debate came after a series of scandals in NHS Scotland, including safety issues exposed at Scotland’s flagship Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, in Glasgow, where managers have been accused of concealing concerns over several years and silencing whistleblowers.
Concerns of families of patients at the QEUH, bolstered by whistleblowers, were dismissed for years by management before inquiries confirmed serious and long-running safety issues.
The issue of official transparency was highlighted in Blackpool as critics claim the Scottish Government has encouraged a culture of secrecy adopted by other public bodies.
The GMB Scotland motion was supported by delegates and called for independent oversight of whistleblowing systems, transparent reporting of bullying investigations and regular culture audits within NHS workplaces. It also called for stronger legal protections against retaliation for workers who raise concerns in the public interest.
Delegates heard Scotland's institutions must become places where transparency, scrutiny and dissent are viewed as a strength rather than a threat by management.
Other issues raised during a day of debates about improving public services included the need to secure rest breaks in the NHS to protect staff and patients; remove parking charges for hospital staff; and protecting the rights of trans workers.
