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RESOLVED – That the Notice of Motion be supported as
follows:

 

(i)          
That Wrexham
County Borough Council note :

 

• Shift work was 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.

• Many workers, especially women were increasingly worried
about their safety travelling to and from work at night.

• While employers may feel that 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.

• Information from Unite indicates the weakness of
enforcement of the law against sexual assault, including up-skirting, on public
transport is appalling and it is understood that only 2% of victims go onto
report sexual harassment on public transport.

• Unite, the Union’s Get me Home
Safely campaign which calls on all 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.

• Greater numbers of public transport staff trained in how
to identify and report sexual harassment and stronger enforcement of the law
against sexual assault and harassment on public transport are urgently needed.

 

(ii)         
That Wrexham County Borough Council will:

 

·        
Support Unite, the Trade Union’s Get Me Home Safely
Campaign.

• Reaffirm its
commitment to taking positive action to prevent violence against women and
girls and ensuring that people feel safe in public areas across all areas of
Wrexham. This Council would continue to actively contribute to achieving the
goals of the Welsh Government Violence against Women, Domestic Abuse and Sexual
Violence Strategy 2022-2026.

• Continue to work
with the licensed trade to operate a safe night-time economy in line with our
Licensing Policy Objectives, working with licensees, employers, the Police and
Community Safety partners to ensure our communities are safe places late at
night.

• Work with our
late night premises and organisations employing shift workers to promote the
safety of workers and encourage licensees and employers to consider staff
transport as an integral part of operating a safe and sustainable business,
helping to ensure workers in these sectors are valued This will significantly
benefit the safety and wellbeing of hospitality workers, particularly women,
who often cannot afford or access safe transport options late at night and
benefit our community and the business through improved staff recruitment and
retention.

• Continue to work
with Welsh Government and the Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA) to
bring forward Welsh Government’s commitment to reforming the national minimum
standards for taxis and private hire and how the legislative framework operates
in Wales.