ALL IN A DAYS WORK?

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: april 2019 :: RMTnews 16 One in five London Underground workers have been assaulted by passengers and one in 10 have been sexually harassed, RMT research has shown. Tube staff have told of the abuse they receive as the RMT study revealed the scale of harassment on the network. The study of more than 300 station-based workers revealed incidents include an attempt to push a member of staff onto the tracks. A fare dodger brandishing a knife and passengers using racist language were other incidents detailed in the report. The study also found that one in 10 Tube workers have been sexually harassed. The survey which revealed the shocking level of threats, assaults and abuse experienced by Tube staff on a daily basis was launched as London Transport bosses held a key summit in the capital last month to discuss workplace violence. The union demanded serious and concrete action at the summit to turn back the surging tide of violence and hate. The RMT survey of Tube staff found that when dealing with passengers: • Three quarters of those surveyed had been verbally abused with one in five experiencing abuse more than 20 times a year. • Over a third of this abuse related to race whilst one in ten examples related to gender. • Almost one in five (18 per cent) of Tube staff have been physically assaulted • 1 in 10 staff has reported being sexually harassed by passengers. The survey provided hundreds of examples of abuse including: “Customers often revert to race when things don't go their way. There is a culture at LU where we are just expected to accept personal attacks and abuse as a part of the job.” “Abuse is a constant and common occurrence working on the Underground. It happens so regularly that it just becomes a part of it. I have been given abuse referring to my gender and my ethnicity. “I have been hit and spat at on numerous occasions” “When it comes to being punched, it has happened a lot” Violence and abuse “A commuter attempted to push me on to the tracks as a train was coming” “Called me a dumb bitch and other such thing, then threatened to slit my throat and tried to attack m.” “Fare dodger flicked out a Stanley knife on me” “He pulled out a screw driver and threatened to stab me in the chest area” “Customer called me a Lazy c*** and his wife became a nuisance, slapped my colleague in his face, she then fell over, husband then head butted my colleague” “I’ve been physically assaulted with a belt (with a weighted buckle) and with death threats on gatelines purely because I asked customers without tickets where they had travelled from and why they didn’t have a ticket.” “Man head- butted me due to misuse of a freedom pass” “Tickets inspectors are regularly assaulted as our numbers have shrunk from 240 to 130 in the last 12 years, with no recruitment” ALL IN A DAY’S WORK? RMT survey reveals shocking level of threats, assaults and abuse experienced by Tube staff