Calls have been made for tougher punishments to protect council staff coming under attack in the line of duty in Angus and Dundee.
The attacks from disgruntled service users were branded “disgraceful” and “senseless” by North East Conservative MSP Bill Bowman.
New figures show more than 3,400 Dundee City Council workers have been attacked in the last five years, with 858 incidents recorded last year.
The most frequent targets of verbal and physical assault were staff in the local authority’s education children and family services department who were subjected to more than 2,660 attacks.
In Angus in the last year, 926 council workers were assaulted.
Teachers continue to bear the brunt of the bad behaviour including 586 primary school staff and 185 working in the region’s secondary schools.
Mr Bowman said: “People should be able to go to their work with the expectation they will be able to return home with nothing untoward happening to them.
“It’s disgraceful both physical and verbal attacks are happening.
“Staff must ensure they report these kinds of incidents through the appropriate channels to ensure those who are carrying out these senseless assaults are dealt with in the correct way.
“I would hope councils are doing everything in their powers to ensure these attacks stop happening.”
In Aberdeenshire, staff in the local authority’s education and children’s services department were assaulted the most, with 3121 incidents reported, of which 2,629 involved physical violence.
Although the vast majority of incidents continue to involve teachers and other school staff, there were almost 20 cases involving waste services staff in the past year in Angus.
In 2018 Angus recycling centre staff were equipped with bodycams in response to what waste chiefs said was a growing tide of intimidation and violence at the area’s skip sites.
An Angus Council spokeswoman said, “Angus Council does not tolerate verbal or physical abuse towards members of staff and takes very seriously any such incidents.
“There are procedures in place to allow staff to report these matters.”
A spokesperson for Dundee City Council said: “Council employees should not have to face abuse or violence as they go about their jobs.
“We have a zero tolerance approach to this type of unacceptable behaviour.
“Our employees should be able to work without fear of attack, verbal or physical, and are encouraged to report any incidents of violence.”
Earlier this week Scotland’s largest teaching union EIS said it had secured more than £290,000 for victims of workplace injuries over the past year.
A Scottish Government spokesman said: “No teacher should have to suffer verbal or physical abuse in the workplace and we want all pupils to behave in a respectful manner towards their peers and staff.
“We are supporting a number of programmes to promote positive relationships and tackle indiscipline, abuse and violence.
“This includes good behaviour management, restorative approaches and programmes to help develop social, emotional and behavioural skills.”
