Tube station closures sparking abuse against staff, says RMT
Passengers are taking out their frustration on staff, leaving some having to take stress-related sick leave, the union claimed.
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Workers on London Underground are facing increasing levels of verbal abuse and threats of violence from passengers after telling them that Tube stations are closed, a union is warning.
The Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) said passengers are taking out their frustration on staff, leaving some having to take stress-related sick leave.
The union claimed that Tube stations regularly have to close because of staff shortages caused by spending cuts.
Frustration among the travelling public has boiled over in some cases to nasty threats of violence and verbal abuse of our members
There have been around 130 Tube station closures since the start of April, said the RMT.
One Tube worker said: “Staff are vulnerable when they have to inform the public a station is closed. I have been threatened with violence and verbally abused.
“There are colleagues who are suffering from poor mental health as a result of their treatment.
“And some of them are having to take long periods of sick leave which only adds to the already dire staffing situation.”
RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: “The cuts to Tube staff are creating chronic shortages across the network leading to unprecedented station closures.
“Frustration among the travelling public has boiled over in some cases to nasty threats of violence and verbal abuse of our members, something RMT will not tolerate.
There is never an excuse for threats or violence towards our staff, who have the right to do their job without fear or intimidation
“If things do not improve, our members run the real risk of being seriously physically assaulted at work.
“The responsibility for the staff shortages lies with government budget cuts to Transport for London and the London Mayor who is refusing to stand up to ministers suffocating the capital’s transport finances.”
Glynn Barton, TfL’s chief operating officer, said: “There is never an excuse for threats or violence towards our staff, who have the right to do their job without fear or intimidation.
“The safety of our staff, and of our customers, will always be our top priority and we take this behaviour extremely seriously.
“We are aware of the disruption that station closures can cause and only close them as a last resort, after exhausting all other possible options.
“However, on some occasions it is unavoidable as certain stations cannot safely remain open in the rare instances when we have temporary staff shortages.
“We try to minimise disruption caused by station closures, many of which are only closed for a very short time, by prioritising stations with greater connectivity when these shortages occur.
“Under the current proposals the Underground will remain well staffed with 4,500 staff available across the network, to assist customers.
“These proposals have been carefully considered to reduce the risk of Underground stations closing, while ensuring that TfL will be able to meet customer needs, protect jobs and continue to run a safe and reliable service.”