Employers in Newcastle could be forced to offer free transport to late-night staff, under plans to protect workers from sickening harassment and violence.
City bosses have taken steps towards requiring venues to ensure their employees, particularly women and hospitality workers, can get home safely after their shift. Newcastle City Council unanimously agreed on Wednesday night to develop a new policy that will make the granting of new late night licences dependent on venues putting on free transport for staff after 11.30pm, in an effort to protect people who cannot afford a taxi fare and are often forced to walk home.
Labour council leader Nick Kemp told colleagues that incidents like stalking and sexual assault “sadly all to common” for late night workers. He said it was a “fundamental right” to be able to go to and from work safely and pledged that the council would actively encourage all employers in the city to commit to the safe travel offer.
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Coun Lesley Storey, the authority’s cabinet member responsible for public safety, said she was left “sickened and broken” by the death of Zara Eleena, who was killed on her way home from a night out in east London in June. The South Jesmond councillor spoke movingly about her own experiences of harassment and sexual assaults and said that her entire life “has been lived in the shadow of the fear of what could happen to me”.
The council has also pledged to call for improvements to late night public transport provision and to work with employers to use money from the Government’s Safety of Women at Night Fund to supply taxis.
Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner, Kim McGuinness, said: “It’s great that Newcastle has taken this step to put worker’s safety at the centre of our city’s nightlife. An employer’s duty of care doesn’t just stop when someone clocks off. No employee should have to worry about walking home alone in the dark.
“No employee should have to worry about scraping enough money together to get home just because their shift finishes when the buses have stopped or their salary just isn’t enough to cover a taxi. Our city’s employers have to step up with this. They have to take responsibility.
“So much effort is being invested in making our region safe for everyone – reporting apps, awareness campaigns, extra patrols and vulnerability training for those working in the night-time economy. By getting on board with this, employers will be doing their bit to help keep people safe and we need to support them in making sure this happens.”
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