WOMEN’S SAFETY ON SCOTLAND’S RAILWAY

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: january/february 2024 :: RMTnews 13 According to new RMT research one in three women ScotRail workers have been sexually harassed at work in the last year and more than 80 per cent did not report the incidents for fear that the report would not be taken seriously. More than half also said that they had witnessed sexual harassment being perpetrated against female passengers in the last year and three- quarters thought it was becoming more of a problem. Sexual harassment, abusive and violent behaviour towards women and girls is prevalent and is perpetrated in various settings, including on public transport and can affect both passengers and staff and less than a quarter of women ScotRail members said that they feel safe at work. Nearly all ScotRail female members surveyed also said that a further extension of Driver Only Operation (DOO) would worsen the safety of women and girls on the railway and similar amount said that cuts to ScotRail ticket office hours would worsen women and girls’ safety. 95 per cent said that increasing staffing on trains and at stations would improve the safety of women and girls on public transport. RMT’s survey results have clearly exposed the scale of the problem and the need for more action to be taken by employers and the Scottish government. The survey reinforces the union’s view that properly staffed transport networks are vital for supporting passenger, and staff safety. As the Scottish government’s own research has found, women and girls feel safer travelling when there are staff at stations, in ticket offices and on trains. Its own report, published in March 2023, also recommended the Scottish government look at increasing staffing at stations and on trains. It is therefore concerning that the Scottish government’s progress towards acting on the recommendations from March last year appears to be slow. At the same time, and in clear contradiction to its own findings, it still has not ruled out cuts to ScotRail ticket office hours and ScotRail has recently proposed rolling out DOO on more of the network. RMT welcomes the recommendation in Scottish Labour’s recent report into ending violence against women and girls that it will continue to call on the Scottish government to “prevent any reduction in ticket office opening hours, commit to no cuts to staffing on trains”. It is clear from the RMT survey that women feel that issues around sexual harassment and workplace violence are often not taken seriously and that there is a lack of action against perpetrators which exacerbates the issue. The union believes that transport employers must have a robust, zero-tolerance approach to perpetrators of violence, sexual harassment and abuse of transport workers. This involves properly supporting staff who are victims, having accessible reporting procedures in place, and policies on tackling sexual harassment and violence. RMT also has wider concerns about the prevalence of anti-social and abusive behaviour on Scotland’s railway. The union has been campaigning for the Scottish government to introduce legislation which creates a specific offence for abusing or assaulting transport workers, mirroring legislation which already exists for the blue light and retail sectors. WOMEN’S SAFETY ON SCOTLAND’S RAILWAY Union survey of women members working at ScotRail reveals sexual harassment getting worse