Majority of public transport workers experience anti-social behaviour and abuse
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Siptu has called for the establishment of a dedicated policing unit to tackle abuse and anti-social behaviour on public transport, a problem which it says has worsened over the last 12 months.
A survey 615 of the union's members found that 80% felt abuse and anti-social behaviour had impacted their work, with the majority of of these individuals saying the problem had deteriorated over the past year.
More than half of the respondents to the survey stated that they had experienced anti-social behaviour, verbal abuse, and in some instances, physical abuse, either on a daily or weekly basis.
Launching a campaign calling for respect for public transport workers, Siptu said it wants to see the establishment National Transport Advisory Council, which should include unions, public transport operators, private transport operators, disability groups, and other parties with an interest in the sector.
Divisional organiser with Siptu, Adrian Kane, said incidents of anti-social behaviour on public transport had become "all too common".
He also said the issue was having a negative impact on the recruitment of staff across the sector.
"Something has happened since the pandemic, things have got worse," he said.
"And I also think that in relation to the riot in [in Dublin] November that there is an increase in the intensity of it as well."
Mr Kane said that, despite it being promised 10 years ago, a National Transport Advisory Council had not been set up.
"We have consistently looked for increased policing and we get bogged down into this situation where the Government says we're not going to have a specific transport Police," he said.
He told that most of the survey's respondents wanted to see specific policing of public transport.
"We need to sit down and we need to resolve this.
"There are very few workers that have to put up with the sort of stuff that our members do on a day-to-day basis and if the state can't fix it, you get into bigger problems, and the state has to be seen to be efficient," he said.
"It's a responsibility for the employer, but it's a responsibility for the gardaí as well."
Speaking this morning, Labour transport spokesperson Duncan Smith said he had written to the Oireachtas Transport Committee to discuss the findings of Siptu's survey.
He said that Dublin and the rest of the country simply "would not move without these workers, so it is deeply concerning to learn of the depth and breadth of abuse, mistreatment and harassment that transport workers face".
“It seems that violence and anti-social behaviour is now a daily part of the job," he said.
"The most outrageous example of this was during the Dublin riots last November. Despite this, Government have failed to step up and be on the side of our transport workers. "
Mr Smith said best practice in other countries should be examined to decide how best public transport workers' rights might be safeguarded.
“There has never been a more important time to focus on and defend our transport workers. These people are the future of our economy as we all attempt to become more conscious in terms of our carbon footprint," Mr Smith said.
“As our capital and country expands, we will need to see more transport workers hired at scale. To encourage more people into a career in transport, the bare minimum must be that workplaces are safe and secure.”