50 signatures reached
To: Glasgow City Council
SafeHome - Safe Transport home for late night workers in Glasgow
We are urging Glasgow City Council to listen to the concerns of workers and support SafeHome as a condition to any licensed premises.
This would entail:
Support the provision of paid transport home to any worker after 11pm .
Glasgow City Council prioritising SafeHome in the awarding of licenses and contracts in the city.
Support our campaign to ensure SafeHome is carried out by employers all year round and there are repercussions for employers that refuse to do so .
Recognise that the safety of workers in the nightlife industry getting home safely should be a priority for employers
Why is this important?
Glasgow as a city has a vibrant nightlife and as stated by the Licensing Policy Statement (2018) the nightlife industry generates £2.16bn every year. The nightlife industry is clearly crucial to Glasgow’s economy however the safety of the workers that allow the industry to function is not the priority for employers, Glasgow City Council or the licensing board. We are calling for this to change. The 17,000 jobs mentioned in the policy report neglects to highlight the precarious nature of this form of employment and the sacrifices night workers need to make to simply get home safe.
SafeHome is a campaign led by a network of women and shift workers in hospitality, cinemas and other late night premises; demanding a safe transport home from shifts that does not leave any worker financially worse off or compromise their safety when returning home from work.
We have entered the festive period which for most is a time for enjoying Christmas parties with friends and colleagues however the reality for nightlife workers is an extension to license hours for employers to make more profit. This means further harassment,higher difficulty getting home and dealing with the fact that no real safety measures are being put in place to protect staff. We are calling for Glasgow City Council to recognise the difficulty workers face and change the realities of hospitality and late night working in the city.
Our campaign highlights the realities of workers trying to get home safe which can range from taxi fares being deducted from payslips, measly £4 credit provided by multi million pound companies and having to pay substantial portions of wages on taxi fare. Workers have to attempt to navigate a busy dangerous city center at unsociable hours and risk being assaulted on the way home after a shift. These scenarios are not hypothetical, they are the reality of working in the nightlife economy.
This was the reality for one of our activists when finishing work in the city center earlier this year. When the last bus for the evening failed to show up she had to walk through the city center and was sexually assaulted in the street. This came after her employer refused to provide paid transport past the last bus. Incidents like these are avoidable and this is just one case of many.