SCOTRAIL – TICKET EXAMINERS’ SAFETY AT UNMANNED STATIONS

Our ref: HSR

Head Office Circular NP/300/24

13^th December 2024

To: The Secretary

ALL BRANCHES

REGIONAL COUNCILS

 

Dear Colleague

 

SCOTRAIL - TICKET EXAMINERS’ SAFETY AT UNMANNED STATIONS

 

Your Glasgow no. 5 branch has submitted the following resolution:

 

Our Ticket Examiners are gravely concerned by Scotrail' s proposed plan to taxi staff to unmanned stations and wait in the taxi till empty coaches arrive for them to board the unit. 

 

We believe this is a major breach of Health and Safety and is in contrary to the companies own cash handling regulations. 

 

The company have tried to do this a number of years ago this resulted in staff being abandoned at stations as taxi drivers are unwilling to wait with staff and want to leave to pick up their next hire. 

 

Staff also have no way of knowing if the empty coaches are running, if they are cancelled, running late. This led to confusion with staff leaving taxi cabs, that then depart and leave the ticket examiner stranded. 

 

This leaves staff without a position of safety. 

 

This leaves members of staff themselves at an unmanned station with the company's money on them. 

 

This is a cash irregularity as staff are unable to leave railway premises with the company's money. Hence why management minuted that cash floats must be kept in your locker and not to leave railway property. 

 

We ask that our National Executive immediately instruct our Regional Organiser to have a meeting with Scotrail and inform them our members will not take taxi cabs to unmanned stations.

 

At its meeting on 12^th December 2024 your NEC resolved as follows:

 

That we note and thank Glasgow 5 for their resolution. 

 

The mitigations the Company have proposed are only acceptable as follows:

 

• This is a temporary working arrangement 
• There will be a weekly review of this arrangement in which affected members are encouraged to report to local reps any instance and potential instances regarding safety 
• This review will take place between the TE Company Council and Scotrail management 
• We strongly recommend our members invoke the Work Safe Procedure when they feel it is appropriate. 

 

If any of the mitigations that have been put in place by the company doesn't happen then we will be in dispute with the company. 

 

Risk Assessment to be corrected by removing Tier 2 Health and Safety Rep Stuart Miller's name from risk assessment immediately. 

 

We instruct the General Secretary to inform the company of the above RMT Scotland. 

 

Relevant branches and affected members to be informed by text and email

 

I am acting in line with these instructions. 

 

I remind members of your rights under the company’s Work Safe Procedure and in legislation (Section 44 of the Employment Rights Act 1996). You should remove yourself to a place of safety if you feel you are in serious and imminent danger and not to work if you believe your safety is compromised. I refer you also to RMT’s booklet on Serious and Imminent Danger, which can be viewed at:

https://www.rmt.org.uk/news/publications/serious-and-imminent-danger-booklet/.

 

            

Please bring this circular to the attention of relevant members.

 

Yours sincerely

 

 

 

Michael Lynch

General Secretary