Council  

Subject: Get Me Home Safely

Date of meeting:    2 February 2023

Agenda Item 82

Proposer:                 Councillor Platts

Seconder:                Councillor O’Quinn

Ward(s) affected:   All

Notice of Motion

Labour Group

This Council notes:

1. Shift work is widespread in many industries, particularly hospitality, as well as health and care workers, retail, cleaning, security and porter staff and can often entail late-night working;
   
   
2. Many workers, especially women, are increasingly worried about their safety travelling to and from work at night

This Council believes:

3. While employers may feel their duty of care to staff ends when an employee finishes a shift, they also need to take into consideration journeys home, especially during unsocial hours;
   
   
4. The weakness of enforcement of the law against sexual assault, including up-skirting, on public transport is appalling and only 2% of victims go on to report sexual harassment on public transport;
   
   
5. Unite the union’s Get Me Home Safely campaign, which calls on employers to take all reasonable steps to ensure workers are able to get home safely from work at night, is greatly needed and should be supported;
   
   
6. Greater numbers of trained staff and stronger enforcement of the law against sexual assault and harassment on public transport are urgently needed;

Therefore, this Council resolves:

7. To request officers bring a report to Licensing Committee that seeks to use powers, as other local authorities such as East Dunbartonshire Council have, to adopt a policy that our licensing committee and panels will ensure the process for approving late night licences will be linked to the provision of free transport home going forward.

Supporting Information:

https://www.unitetheunion.org/campaigns/get-me-home-safely-campaign/