80% of local government workers have said they would apply for a job evaluation scheme if one was made available, according to a recent Fórsa workplace attitudes survey of 2,100 members.

The issue-based research set out to capture the views and opinions of people working in the sector across the country in grades represented by Fórsa.

The results came against the backdrop of a hard-fought campaign that saw Fórsa’s Local Government and Local Services Division secure a roadmap to job evaluation for members in the sector following successful industrial action.

40% of respondents indicated that they are actively seeking an alternative job, with 46% of those stating that lack of career progression as the reason.

Head of Fórsa’s Local Government and Local Services and Municipal Employees’ Divisions Richy Carrothers explained that the results of this survey will shape and inform the union’s bargaining strategy as the union seeks to make the sector a better place to work.

“The research we have carried out is the most comprehensive and wide-ranging survey of local government workers ever. We can see from our research that almost 60% of respondents have been employed by their local authority for more than ten years. We’re drawing on the rich, full and broad experiences of our members to develop policy to better the working lives of our members,” he said.

In response to the survey, 80% of local government workers indicated that they have dealt with cohorts promoting far right, racist or homophobic agendas, while 67% of participants have dealt with aggressive or abusive service-users. The results were described as “stark” by Richy.

“For almost eighteen months our members in libraries have been subjected to harassment and intimidation by far-right agitators. Fórsa is working alongside our members to tackle this and protect them in their workplace. This data is a harsh reminder of what our members experience in their workplace,” he said.

Fórsa is currently working through responses and will produce a comprehensive report in the near future. Richy thanked those who responded to the survey.

“Thank you to those who took the time to complete our questions. The data we have gathered is both rich and informative and we are drilling into the data results with a view to publishing a comprehensive report,” he said.

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