Edinburgh City Council backs Get Me Home Safely campaign

Edinburgh City Council has backed the Get Me Home Safely campaign, developed by union Unite.

The campaign seeks to extend employers’ duty of care to include safe transport home policies for all workers. It calls on central and local government bodies to make such measures a prerequisite for all new liquor licenses, and to increase safe public transport provision into the evening.

Edinburgh City Councillors backed a motion to support the campaign unanimously at a meeting on Thursday (27 October).

Cllr Alys Mumford, of the Scottish Green Party, said: “Many industries which make Edinburgh thrive – including hospitality, health and social care, and cleaning – depend on shift work which can often entail late-night working.

“These are sectors which predominantly employ women, and many workers are increasingly worried about their safety travelling to and from work at night; both employers and decision makers have a duty of care towards workers in Edinburgh, which does not end when an employee finishes their shift but need to take into consideration journeys home, especially during unsocial hours.”

Edinburgh joins East Dunbartonshire in backing the campaign. East Dunbartonshire Council has adopted a Supplementary Statement of Licensing Policy meaning that hospitality venues in the area now have to ensure their employees can safely travel to and from work late at night, or risk losing their licence.

Edinburgh City Council’s licensing team will now design a similar plan to meet the aims of the campaign as well as engaging with providers of public transport and using the council’s influence to advocate for additional legislative changes.