Tweed Shire Council has spoken out against aggression directed at Council staff.
General Manager Troy Green has urged community members to show basic respect to Council staff after a number of recent incidents of aggression towards Council staff and contractors.
Over the past three years, there has been a marked increase in incidents of verbal and physical aggression and what were once viewed as isolated events have become a common occurrence for some council workers.
Most staff involved in verbal aggression don’t report incidents because it is not viewed as something that can be controlled.
Troy Green believes these incidents are caused by the minority in the community and that generally Council staff have positive experiences with the public.
“It’s very unfortunate that the positive relationships our staff are building are being overshadowed by incidents of aggression,” he said.
“Council staff are not ‘fair game’ for abuse or aggression; everyone has the right to work in an environment free from aggressive behaviour.
“Recently a number of incidents have resulted in physical altercations or near misses and we are concerned for the welfare of Council staff.”
A recent example is an incident of alleged aggression involving a contracted traffic controller on a regional work site that has been referred to police.
Council workers at Kennedy Drive have also experienced severe threats and abuse.
Council has also received reports of vehicles ignoring the directions of traffic controllers and potentially risking the safety of workers and other road users.
“Our staff members have a job to do, often in difficult conditions, and we do not tolerate aggression towards them at any time – verbal or physical,” Mr Green said.
“Council understands and appreciates that roadwork delays can be frustrating, but that does not give motorists the right to abuse someone who is on a work site doing their job and trying to keep people safe.
“Our staff are part of the Tweed community, whether they’re working the weighbridge, Council rangers, or our front-counter staff.
“We have systems in place to report incidents of aggression and we will not hesitate to refer matters to the police.”
