OUR FRONT LINE
Behind the scenes with the unsung heroes keeping the railway running
RAIL unions have criticised Rail Minister Chris Heaton-Harris’ comments regarding railway staff remaining at work.
Speaking at the House of Commons Transport Select Committee (remotely) on
April 7, Heaton-Harris said the Government wants to retain “a decent number of gateline staff, because there are all sorts of other issues involving accessibility of our railway and, indeed, a tiny bit of revenue protection.”
He added that guidance from Public Health England should be used and said of the staff: “They are there to assist passengers who might need help. But they are also being asked to use (and are using) common sense in various situations to ensure a proper flow of passengers, so that passengers themselves are able to maintain safe social distancing as well.”
Immediately after the TSC,
TSSA General Secretary Manuel Cortes wrote to Heaton-Harris and Secretary of State for Transport Grant Shapps asking them to spend time on the frontline to “understand the realities of working without adequate Personal Protective Equipment [PPE]”.
In his letter, dated April 7,
Cortes wrote: “This morning, the Mayor of London was accused by Piers Morgan on national television of ‘sending workers to their deaths’ over lack of PPE for transport workers. We are gravely concerned for the safety of our members, transport workers.
“Public transport is now largely under the control of government and we are calling on you to stand down non-essential workers who are at risk of contracting and spreading COVID-19, and to provide adequate PPE for those really required for the safe running of the network.
“We believe all rail booking offices and gateline staff on revenue protection duties should be stood down during this peak of the pandemic.”
On April 8, RMT General Secretary Mick Cash said: “Today we have issued advice to our members in the rail and bus sectors that they should stop work on safety grounds if employers do not provide protection from COVID-19.
“That means that if they are not provided with PPE, including masks, eye defenders and gloves where necessary, they should not be working.”
The Department for Transport told RAIL: “The Rail Minister offers continued thanks to frontline railway staff and remains in regular contact with industry. In line with Public Health England advice, he is socially distancing
and carrying out his work from home. Visiting frontline staff would contravene this advice.”
The DfT further explained:
“Our priority is ensuring the safety of hard-working frontline railway staff, who are helping passengers at stations and keeping key services on the network running.
“We have agreed principles with industry which set out that operators must at all times follow Public Health England Advice, including ensuring staff are able to maintain social distancing through adapting working arrangements where possible.
“We have already asked operators to ensure that railway staff who are not essential to the safe and secure running of the railway can, wherever possible, work from home.”
A Rail Delivery Group spokesman said: “Rail staff are crucial to the national effort to fight Coronavirus, getting NHS workers and vital supplies where they need to be, and we treat their health and safety with the utmost seriousness.
“As well as ensuring our people have any recommended equipment to prevent transmission, we have reduced the number of people, and the hours they spend working, in public-facing roles. We have delayed or re-planned engineering work so that people can socially distance, closed infrequently used ticket offices, and reduced the handling of cash and tickets.
“We will continue to closely monitor the latest government advice and act accordingly to protect our staff as they undertake their vital work.”