MORE than a quarter of local government workers in Scotland have sought medical help for mental health issues in the past year, a trade union survey has indicated.

A report published today by Unison lays bare the impact of the pandemic on local government workers, including lost holidays and extra hours worked. 

More than 12,000 Unison members working at Scotland’s councils were asked about the pandemic’s toll on their health over the past year, with eight in 10 saying their stress levels had risen and 27 per cent reporting that they had sought professional help over their mental health in the past year.

The survey also indicates that six in 10 workers had to do more work than usual and more than a third said they had lost annual leave due to work pressure.

Mark Ferguson, Unison Scotland local government chairman, said: “It is clear that more needs to be done to support our members and to recognise their efforts through their pay and rewards.”

The report also showed that four in 10 said there had been no change in the level of support provided to them by their employer compared with pre-Covid. 

Just under a fifth had suffered a bereavement as a result of Covid, with the majority of these workers saying they took no time off work to deal with this and 72 per cent saying they received no support from their employer. 

The findings “lay bare the enormous sacrifices these workers have made to keep our services going” and they need support to “provide them with the reward and recognition that they deserve,”said the union’s head of local government, Johanna Baxter.