Cross-company zero-tolerance campaigns, an end to unnecessary lone-working, more uniformed staff and better legal protection for transport workers are at the heart of the campaign launched by the union today.

After surveying its own front-line members, RMT says that official assault figures represent only the tip of the iceberg, that police fail to attend as many as 40 per cent of reported incidents, and that more than a third of incidents go unreported.

There were 4,865 reported assaults against rail workers in 2007 - that's 13 a day, and a 50 per cent increase on the 2002 figure of 3,179 - and that is also aside from the 2,064 assaults against staff reported on London Underground in 2006/07.

But data collected from RMT members suggests that most front-line transport workers can expect to be threatened, abused or physically assaulted at work.

RMT's charter calls for a unified zero-tolerance approach among all transport employers, with all incidents investigated and appropriate action taken, along with proper risk-assessment, effective training and encouragement to report all incidents.

The main aim should be to prevent assaults, but there should also in place adequate care to ensure that victims of assaults are given all the support and assistance they need.

RMT has welcomed changes to guidelines that will result in tougher sentences for those who assault public-service workers, but the union will continue campaigning for the law to treat assaults on transport workers with the same severity as assaults on emergency workers.

The union's campaign already has the backing of 76 MPs who have so far signed an early-day motion (see notes) that urges the government and employers to take all necessary steps to prevent assaults and to secure the strongest possible legal protection for transport workers.

"The level of violence our members face at work is already unacceptable, yet year on year the problem gets worse, and it is time to put staff safety ahead of profits," RMT general secretary Bob Crow said today.

"No-one should have to regard the fear of assault as part of the job, no-one should have to worry about reporting assaults for fear that they might be seen as the problem, and no-one assaulted at work should have to wonder when, let alone if, the police might arrive.

"Staff who are attacked should be able to expect the best possible care and support, but all too often the employer's response falls woefully short.

"And it is cost-cutting by private operators across the transport that has reduced staffing to the bone and has made transport workers more vulnerable.

"It is high time to reverse that trend and start putting guards and conductors back on trains and buses, and ensure that all stations and terminals are adequately staffed all the time they are open.

"We need the transport police to have enough resources to respond in time, every time, but we also need the best possible legal protection that sends out the signal that transport workers are not there to be attacked," Bob Crow said.

ends

Notes to editors:

· Some 71 per cent of respondents to RMT's workplace violence survey said that they were working alone when they were assaulted.

· Two thirds of assaults reported to RMT were over tickets or fare disputes

· From our survey, 40 per cent of incidents reported to the BTP were not attended - but 51 per cent of those that were attended and investigated resulted in successful convictions.

· The official figures from the Rail Safety and Standards board show 4,865 reported assaults against rail workers, or 13 a day, in 2007, up from 3,179 in 2002.

· That figure does not include London Underground, where there were 2,064 reported assaults during 2006/07 - a 17.5 per cent increase over the previous year.

· RMT's workplace violence survey suggests that assaults are under-reported by at least 36 per cent.

· The bus industry has been so fragmented since its deregulation and privatisation in the mid-1980s that industry-wide assault figures are simply not kept. In an RMT survey of bus workers in 2007, only a third of respondents believed their employers took adequate steps to minimise assaults and anti-social behaviour by passengers.

· A survey published in 2006 by the Department for Transport showed that even employers acknowledged that 'passenger behaviour' was a serious issue adversely affecting recruitment and staff turnover.

Transport Workers Charter of Protection

RMT demands:

* Workplace violence policies that adequately protect our members.

* Policies that provide aftercare and counselling for staff.

* Zero tolerance on violence at work and maximum penalties for offenders.

* Training for staff in dealing with conflict.

* Consultation on additional security measures.

* Consultation on risk assessments of high-risk areas.

* Elimination of lone working.

* Investigation of incidents by employers and the police.

* Reporting of all incidents by victims.

* Improvements to the travelling environment.

Comments from transport workers who responded to the RMT survey

"If I reported every verbal assault on a daily basis I would become a nuisance to the BTP." - Employee, Transpennine Express

"No point in reporting the assault as my company couldn't care less for its employees. Profits matter, not people." - Employee, Heysham Port Ltd

"The manager was there while I was being abused, and did nothing." - Employee, First Great Western

"Didn't report the assault, as I didn't want to be seen as a troublemaker." - Employee, P&O

"London Underground does not like incidents to be reported and view staff as the problem if an individual reports too many assaults." - Employee, London Underground

"A colleague was subjected to an armed robbery and the company seemed more concerned with when they would return to work than their welfare. It seems to me that while the company pays lip service to protecting and assisting staff involved in assaults, ultimately its main interest is protecting revenue. Everything else comes second." - Employee, Southern

"I consider myself very lucky to have only suffered verbal abuse. I always fill in the incident report to my employers, but no action is ever taken. It seems to be considered part of the job." - Bus driver, First

"I work alone as a signaller, and the area I work in is noted for drug dealers. I've been threatened on numerous occasions, had a knife pulled on me and my car stoned. The signal box also gets stoned. The police do the best they can but there are so few of them they can't be in more than one place at once, and by the time they arrive, the yobs are gone." - Signaller, Network Rail

See also:

Early Day motion 901

ASSAULTS ON TRANSPORT WORKERS

Tabled by John McDonnell and signed by 75 others to date

"That this House applauds the vital work of Britain's transport workers who, as essential public servants, deserve to be treated with dignity and respect; believes there is a clear responsibility on the Government together with employers in the rail, ferry and bus industries to take all the necessary steps to prevent staff assaults and provide care for those who are assaulted; further believes that reducing staff assaults will help reduce anti-social behaviour and provide a safer environment for transport users; therefore supports the aims of the campaign of the Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers Union which seeks firstly to raise awareness with employers and the public, secondly to secure the strongest possible legal protection for transport workers against assault, thirdly to establish effective cross company forums in each of the rail, bus and ferry industries and finally to persuade transport employers to adopt best practice when developing policies to prevent staff assaults and provide care for those who are victims of assault."

Signatures( 76)

McDonnell, John [R]
Prosser, Gwyn
James, Sian C
Riordan, Linda
Drew, David
Corbyn, Jeremy
Hoyle, Lindsay
Jones, Lynne
Evans, Nigel
Pugh, John
Hopkins, Kelvin
Iddon, Brian
Meale, Alan
Cryer, Ann
Dismore, Andrew
Etherington, Bill
George, Andrew
Gibson, Ian
Hancock, Mike
Williams, Stephen
Spink, Bob
Jones, Martyn
Lepper, David
Dobbin, Jim
Foster, Michael Jabez
Gapes, Mike
Godsiff, Roger
Bottomley, Peter
Williams, Betty
Willis, Phil
Soulsby, Peter
Hunter, Mark
Jenkins, Brian
Caton, Martin
Durkan, Mark
Francis, Hywel
Stringer, Graham
Leech, John
MacNeil, Angus
Sharma, Virendra Kumar
Salter, Martin
Vis, Rudi
Skinner, Dennis
Llwyd, Elfyn
Hamilton, David
Battle, John
Devine, Jim
Singh, Marsha
Naysmith, Doug
Dean, Janet
Efford, Clive
Austin, John
Stewart, Ian
Williams, Hywel
Simpson, Alan
McCartney, Ian
Crausby, David
Strang, Gavin
Lloyd, Tony
Cable, Vincent
Clark, Katy
Hoey, Kate
Illsley, Eric
Hermon, Sylvia
McDonnell, Alasdair
Waltho, Lynda
Spellar, John
Curtis-Thomas, Claire
Doran, Frank
Humble, Joan
Connarty, Michael
Wood, Mike
Kemp, Fraser
Gerrard, Neil
Davidson, Ian
Mitchell, Austin

For up-to-date signatories, please visit

http://edmi.parliament.uk/EDMi/EDMDetails.aspx?EDMID=35077&SESSION=891