PRESIDENT’S COLUMN

RMT helpline 0800 3763706 :: march 2009 :: RMTnews President’s column RMT DEMANDS ZERO TOLERANCE ON ASSAULTS On top of the economy going into freefall and the attack on jobs by various transport companies, RMT members also have to deal with the unacceptable threat of physical and verbal attacks at the workplace every day. It is a fact that every single day of the year RMT members are assaulted both physically and verbally while carrying out their duties. In fact, I would hazard a guess that over half of the union have either been assaulted themselves or know some one that has been. Only the other day I witnessed this familiar scenario for myself. A train manager was just doing his job, asking to see tickets, when he received a torrent of abuse which included all the usual threats. The train manager shrugged it off and I can understand why he chose to deal with it in that way. However, it is vital that every time that this happens then we report the matter to your union. It is clear that the strains caused by the economic crisis and the social problems that go with it will continue to put people under pressure. The policy of the government and train operating companies to pass on the cost of the crisis onto passengers by raising fares and cutting services is causing grief. And passengers often take it out on the first person that they see in uniform and you can bet that won’t be a manager. But there can be no excuse to attack people trying to do their job under sometimes very difficult conditions. What makes matters worse is that the employers nearly always seem to blame the staff, yet they still expect our members to protect revenue as far as possible. With performance driven bosses and passengers’ abuse, frontline staff feel like they are getting it from all angles. RMT has the issue of workplace violence and staff assault permanently on the agenda of the Rail Personal Security Group. The union is lobbying to have similar cross-industry groups established for the bus and shipping industries. We are taking part in various research projects related to the issue and a current project is looking at the effects of alcohol on safety and security on the railway. We’ve had one member threatened with discipline and costs for “allowing” a passenger to steal his ticket machine! Is this a case of blaming people for doing their job too well? The stress of working in frontline jobs with constant abuse can become a serious health issue and can even lead to medical discharge. The employers should be offering total back-up and support instead of looking to scapegoat the staff. The lack of understanding from management is frankly sickening at times. RMT’s Transport Workers’ Charter of Protection has been produced and reps should be using this as a basis for negotiating improvements to staff safety. Our workplace violence campaign will also be reinvigorated at regular intervals to ensure that the transport sector never loses focus of staff assaults. Our next big date for this issue is on April 28 when we mark Workers Memorial Day in conjunction with the ITF’s and their ‘Unions Say NO to Violence’ campaign. Our Parliamentary group will be tabling a new Early Day Motion and members will be leafleting major stations throughout Britain. Look out for further details in the near future. John Leach realised that I was serious, they took me away to military prison,” she said. Tamar served 12 days in prison. It was the first of three spells that she served at the end of 2008, the second for 18 days and the third for 21 days. Part of her last sentence was spent in an isolation cell. Prison hasn’t diminished Tamar’s hope for peaceful solution to the problems of the occupation and conflict. She is clear that the first steps must come from Israel’s leaders who need to remove the settlements in occupied territories as a first step. “If there were no occupation there would be no need to fight,” she says. There will be a full report from RMT Women’s Conference in next month’s magazine JAIL You can read more about the Shministim, and send them a message of support on the web at http://december18th.org