COUNCIL staff are suffering frequent bullying attacks which are hitting morale, a study has revealed.

Almost 40% of Glasgow City Council staff surveyed said they had experienced some form of verbal or physical abuse from the public, managers or colleagues.

And almost half of those bullied failed to report the incidents in the belief nothing would be done about it.

More than 70% of those who took part in the council-wide study said morale among staff was low, and only 37% were proud of working for the local authority.

The council claims incidents of bullying have decreased but admitted it remained a "significant" problem.

Almost a quarter of staff said they had endured bullying from service users and the public.

A further 15% said they had been bullied by line managers and 10% had been subjected to attacks from colleagues.

The survey showed the percentage of staff who fail to report bullying has risen from 35% in 2007 to 49% in 2009.

Martin Dorran, of the GMB union, said: "The council is very much aware that bullying is an issue. One per cent is too high but 40% is extortionate.

"They are working extremely hard to put in place clear, definitive procedures on how staff should deal with bullying, including encouraging workers to report incidents.

"The vast majority of council services are provided by frontline workers and unfortunately a lot of the public believe a council employee is fair game."

Just over a quarter of council staff took part in the poll.

Council chief executive George Black said: "We have seen a reduction in the number of staff who report being bullied.

"While things are getting better, there is clearly a lot more to do, and over the coming months I will be working to ensure our response to this survey ensures that things continue in the right direction."