Almost every fifth municipal employee has been the target of a violent act or threatened with violence.
In addition to security professionals, violent behaviour is met especially by healthcare and social workers, restaurant employees and public transport personnel. In prisons, overcrowding and understaffing, as well as outdated facilities weaken personal on-the-job safety.
The chair of the Trade Union for the Public and Welfare Sectors, Tuire Santamäki-Vuori, says that both legislation and contract terms need to be updated to deal with new risks to personal safety in the working place.
Under present law accident insurance coverage does not pay victims of attacks at work for pain, discomfort or cosmetic injuries. Claims for compensation in these cases have to be privately filed in a court.
According to Santamäki-Vuori, in practice victims receive only a fraction of the compensation they should be entitled to.