Rail union calls for mask rule to stay in place for sake of staff

A RAILWAY union is demanding face masks remain mandatory on trains, despite the Government’s plans to return to normal.

The Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association (TSSA) said it wanted to ensure train staff “continue to feel they are protected” when the so-called Plan B Covid restrictions expire on Thursday.

It comes after Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, announced that passengers must continue to wear masks on the capital’s buses, trains and trams after the legal requirements end.

Many rail operators have yet to make clear what their policy on masks will be from next week, raising fears that commuters will again be left with conflicting advice on different services.

‘It’s vital our brave transport members... continue to feel they are protected’

Last summer, passengers at stations such as Farringdon found the rules changed from one platform to the next, as face coverings were required on London Underground trains but not on services run by Thameslink, which also called at the station.

On the Government’s plans to end the Plan B measures, Manuel Cortes, the general secretary of TSSA, said: “It’s vital our brave transport members who have been on the front line of this pandemic continue to feel they are protected. It’s also important we do all that is reasonable to get people back on to public transport in London and elsewhere so that we can build a clean, green recovery from this virus.

“Sadiq Khan is spot on when he says face coverings should remain beyond the end of Plan B, especially given the rates of infection we are still seeing.

“Clearly the Government should back this, not only for London but across the rest of our public transport network.”

Ministers have spent the past few days battling with unions amid ongoing resistance to their plan to restore normality.

The trade body for civil servants is pushing back against efforts to get the country to return to offices.