Rail cuts ‘will impact disabled’
A GOSPORT disability activist and campaigner is calling for people to show their support for the ongoing rail strikes - saying that the proposed changes will have a ‘huge’ negative impact on disabled people’s access to public transport.
Kirsty Smillie, who works for the Disability Union as a strategic development officer, is keen to address misconceptions about the RMT train strike - and wants people to think about how staff cuts and pay cuts will affect disabled commuters.
The mum-of-three said: ‘The RMT says rail operators are seeking to bring in job cuts which could include compulsory redundancies.
‘Theunionarguesthesejob cutswouldhavesafetyimplications on the rail network.
‘Theimpactofthejoblosses willimpactcommuters.Forexample if stations and ticket officesareallcomputerisedwith no staff or very little actual humanbeings,whowillassistdisabled people or those needing assistance?’
She believes that staff cuts would have a ‘huge impact’ on disabled people’s access to public transport, and said: ‘Theobstaclesdisabledpeople face trying to use public transport are huge, and this is just furtherexcludingpeoplefrom using the trains.
‘I work with hundreds of members of a Disability Union and they constantly tell us aboutthechallengestheyface.
‘They are really concerned about this - how are they going to get to work on time? To use a ramp, you need to find someone on the platform to help you.
‘We are supporting the RMT strike because we feel that you can’t replace human beings when it comes to accessibility and assistance.’
The 40,000 staff expected to take part in the strike includes signallers, signallers, maintenance workers, ticket collectors, and cleaners, but train drivers are for the most part not included in this dispute as ASLEF is the union that represents most drivers.
Kirsty said: ‘We have all used the self scanners at Asda, how many times have you had to call a member of staff over for assistance when things won't scan?
‘What happens when you are rushing for a train and there's one person to assist hundreds of commuters?
‘If the amount of signallers are reduced what happens when the computerised technology fails? Delays and accidents.’