VIOLENT incidents in Scotland’s public sector have rocketed, a union warned today.

In its annual report on violence at work, Unison, which represents tens of thousands of workers across the country’s public services, has noted a shocking 31 per cent increase in cases.

The statistics show the numbers of violent incidents against workers soaring by 12,931 to 54,684 in 2022-23.

About two-thirds of those attacks happened in councils, and between 80 and 98 per cent of incidents in each council happened in schools and nurseries.

But the union warned that the picture remains incomplete after NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, Scotland’s largest health board, failed to respond to its freedom of information (FOI) requests on how many violent incidents its 43,000 staff had experienced, despite the requests being made in May of this year.

Unison Scotland’s health and safety committee chair, Scott Donohoe said: “We need action to tackle the violence and aggression at work — it really isn’t ‘part of the job.’

“We now need action by employers and stronger legislation, regulation and oversight by government.

“The failure by some major employers to respond to our request is more than a breach of the law — it is an indication that employers do not hold or gather information about assaults on their staff.

“This isn’t acceptable and we will take this further.”

A Scottish government spokesperson said: “All workers, including public-sector workers, deserve protection from abuse and violence.

“The courts have extensive powers to deal robustly with assaults, with sentences all the way up to life imprisonment available.”

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde was contacted for comment.