Toowoomba Regional Council (TRC) this week launched an educational campaign to increase respect for its workforce and to help minimise threats made to staff by members of the public.
In 2020, Council reported an increase in the frequency and severity of staff being threatened or abused while doing their job throughout the community.
The campaign, 'Our People - your friends, family and neighbours' aims to humanise TRC's workforce and help members of the public understand that while they work for Council, they're also people and members of the Region.
TRC Mayor Paul Antonio said it was disappointing that some staff had been threatened for doing their job but he hoped the 'Our People' campaign would showcase how staff deserved the same respect as everyone else.
"Everything our people do is for our community," he said.
"Our people are our greatest asset and they have a right to do their work free from intimidation, abuse and threats, regardless of what job they're performing."
"I'm excited that we're launching a campaign to not only showcase the great work of our staff but also to highlight that they're just people, like everyone else."
TRC Chief Executive Officer Brian Pidgeon said the 'Our People' campaign was a great initiative that had the joint support from Council's Leadership Team and the Unions that represent Council's employees.
"This is a campaign which recognises the dedication of our workforce and creates greater understanding of the person behind the uniform," he said.
"It's important to our organisation that we ensure we're doing whatever we can to make our staff feel safe and supported while they're working."
