Motion 83
Enforcing Action on Work Related Stress in the Public Sector
“That this Congress recognises that work-related stress is not an inevitable feature of public service work but a direct result of policy choices, chronic under-resourcing, and management practices that transfer organisational risk onto workers.
“Congress notes that HSE figures identify work-related stress as the leading cause of sickness absence in Scotland.
“Congress further notes that the SSTA Survey Report on Work-Related Stress identifies excessive demands, as measured against the HSE workload stress indicators, as the primary driver of workplace stress.
“Congress condemns the unchecked growth of non-statutory reporting, tracking, and administrative requirements across the public sector, which inflate workloads, undermine service delivery, and damage workers’ health and wellbeing.
“Congress further notes the SSTA’s clear recommendation that all line managers undertake mandatory training on the HSE Management Standards, focused on early intervention, meaningful welfare engagement, and effective resource allocation.
“Congress therefore calls on the General Council to lobby the Scottish Government to take enforceable action by:
- mandating compulsory HSE Management Standards training for all public sector line managers, fully funded and embedded as a core requirement of managerial responsibility; and
- requiring all public sector employers to conduct time-bound local reviews of non-statutory reporting, tracking, and administrative tasks, with a presumption of elimination or significant reduction rather than superficial streamlining.
“Congress believes that these reviews must be subject to employer-level accountability, meaningful trade union involvement, and clear reporting mechanisms, to deliver systemic change and end the routine management of stress as an acceptable cost of public service delivery.”
Mover: Scottish Secondary Teachers’ Association (SSTA)
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