Workplace violence is a significant issue for workers in the transport and travel sector, says the rail union TSSA after its survey and campaign was launched at the Houses of Parliament.
Frontline workers in particular face elevated risks due to direct interactions with the public, the union says. It quotes the RSSB (Rail Safety and Standards Board) that some 2,793 members of the railway workforce were injured or recorded shock/trauma due to assault and abuse in 2023/24. Its report points to ‘gaps in employer responses, including inconsistent reporting procedures, limited support for victims, and insufficient measures to prevent or mitigate violent incidents’. As for the cost of violence against staff, the report again quotes the RSSB that since before covid the railways have seen a wise in workforce assaults resulting in injury or shock; and more ‘lost time incidents’, whereby an employee misses work for at least one day.
Recommendations
Among the report’s recommendations, it asks for a stand-alone offence of violence against transport workers, similar to the Crime and Policing Bill, going through Parliament, that includes a separate offence of assaulting a retail worker; it calls on Government to negotiate with the executive in Northern Ireland for Transport Police to be introduced in the province; and seeks ‘zero tolerance’ policies against abuse embedded into the new regulator Great British Rail’s working practices; and a charter against transport worker violence by the Department of Transport; and that resources are reinstated to British Transport Police (BTP).
Online survey
An online survey by the union of members found that over half of respondents reported experiencing some form of violence, physical or verbal, within the past year. Near all reported verbal threats or abuse, which the union says has psychological and emotional impacts; and the pervasive nature of verbal abuse creates a hostile work environment. The report said: “The picture painted by these responses is of a workforce that suffers the long-term effects of violence and abuse at work, such as physical and psychological injury, low morale and job satisfaction, that then reports these incidences once they have happened but has little knowledge about how they are addressed or
confidence in how they will be mitigated.”
What they say
Maryam Eslamdoust, General Secretary for the TSSA called for ‘transformative change’. She said: “This report provides a roadmap for action, urging parliamentarians to strengthen protections for workers and employers to step up their responsibilities.
“I am appalled at the extent and severity of violence TSSA members are experiencing in their workplaces. Many are going to work every day, knowing they are likely to face violence and abuse, with very little being done to stop it. This has to end, for the safety and well-being of the staff who keep the country moving every day, and for the future of transport in the UK. Together, we must create a transport network that is not only efficient and reliable but also safe and inclusive for everyone.”
Separately, she has complained that a growing practice of deploying roaming transport workers, often working alone, has left staff even more vulnerable to attacks.
For the Keep Transport Workers Safe campaign, see: https://www.tssa.org.uk/about-tssa/what-we-do/campaigning/stop-violence-against-transport-workers.
