CARLISLE CITY RMT

A Safer Working Environment for Workers

Every employee has the right to a safe working environment. Unfortunately, as the results of the RMT Autumn 2007 'Violence at Work' survey of Union members reveals, railway workers are frequently assaulted by members of the public.

• 71% of respondents were assaulted when working alone
• 2/3rds of the assaults were over ticket or fare disputes
• In 27% of incidents the sole reason was the passenger's inebriation by drugs or alcohol
• 40% of incidents reported to the British Transport Police received no response
• 36% of incidents are not reported to the British Transport Police
• 51% of the reported incidents had successful results with convictions ranging from fixed penalty notices to custodial sentances
• 30% of respondants took time off aftr the assault and of those 60% was for more than three days
• 25% of respondants did not know whether their employer had any proceedures in place for dealing ith work-related violence
• 29% of respondants said they were not told by their management to record all instances of assault or abuse
• 77% of respondants say that they had not been offered any assistance after their ordeal. In the cases where assistance was offered, this ranged from a brief chat to being offered counselling. The majority of returned questionnaires stated that where proceedures for after care were in place, they were rarely followed.

There are some obvious methods to reduce the incidence of assault on the railway, not least an end to lone working. It is clear that companies must do more to ensure the welfare of their employees in adoption of best practice policies when developing strategies to prevent staff assaults and provision of aftercare. Many respondants felt that they themselves were often blamed for causing conflict and getting themselves into difficult situations rather than being seen as the victim of anti-social behaviour.

Train operators' focus on maximising revenue without a corresponding improvement in service has created tension for RMT members dealing with passengers. High ticket prices, overcrowding and inflexible application of penalty fares procedures when ticket offices queues were too long or vending machines were not working all create unnecessary frustration for passengers. Of course, enhanced reliability of services could certainly help mitigate some of the anger levelled at transport staff.

It is in train operators' financial interest to look urgently at this problem, because of the associated costs of replacement staff and compensation etc. The DFT claims that the average costs of an assault on railway staff is £1,040.

The RMT is campaigning to reduce staff assaults, key campaign objectives include

• To raise awareness with employers and the public
• To secure the strongest possible legal protection for transport workers against assault
• To establish effective cross company forums in esach of the rail, bus and ferry industries
• To pursuade transport employers to adopt best practice when developing policies to prevent staff assaults and provide care for those who are victims of assault.