After a year in which essential services and the key workers who provided them were celebrated, over half of public-facing staff have reported a rise in abuse*. Veolia is taking a stand after reports from frontline staff more than doubled across the UK, with a 118% increase compared to the same period last year. This picture is reflected in Westminster where post pandemic frustration, the return of the night time economy and increased road use is also leading to more frequent reports.
In response Veolia has launched StreetKind, with the backing of Westminster City Council. This is a new campaign thanking residents who recognise the hard work of their teams and taking stronger action against those who abuse or endanger their staff. Whilst the majority of people are respectful and kind to frontline staff, a rise in the most serious cases of physical and verbal abuse has led to a new commitment from the company to pursue more criminal prosecutions.
The campaign builds on previous Veolia initiatives focusing on building a safe workplace and includes a comprehensive training programme to support staff to diffuse situations, handle instances effectively and how and when to involve the police. Frustration at being stuck behind a collection vehicle or queues at recycling centres are not reasons to abuse key workers and the company is reaffirming its support to staff who are victims of abuse.
Beth Whittaker, Chief Human Resources Officer, Veolia UK & Ireland said:
“I talk to our people on a regular basis and they are passionate about their work and their teams, but hearing their stories of abuse, especially in the last six months, has been increasingly distressing. No one should be abused simply for doing their job and we’re determined to combat this unacceptable trend.
“As well as appealing to the public to show their appreciation for our teams, we are also focusing on training and support for our employees to respond to incidents. We will take the most serious action for the most serious attacks, including criminal prosecutions, in order to build a safer workplace environment for our colleagues.”
Councillor James Spencer, Cabinet Member for City Management at Westminster City Council said:
“I’m delighted to support the launch of Veolia’s Streetkind campaign on behalf of Westminster City Council. It is very important that we say thank you to all frontline workers who play such an important role in keeping the City moving.
“The pandemic has been a real challenge for everyone, but our dedicated, hard-working teams have done a fantastic job in spite of this. Keeping the streets clean is so important for our residents and businesses and we’re determined to uphold Westminster’s reputation as a clean, attractive place to live, work and visit.”
StreetKind will thank the majority of the public for respecting staff and ask them to show their appreciation now and again with a smile or a wave. It also aims to raise public understanding about the abuse suffered by key workers since the pandemic, stabilise incident reporting to ensure the problem is accurately represented and increase prosecutions for the worst offenders.
StreetKind is launching across the country and will be localised to each area. In Westminster the focus will be on collection rounds and street cleansing teams, where incidents are most likely to occur.
