The workers dealing with violence on London transport are to stage strike action.
Workers who deal with violence across London transport are to stage fresh strikes in a dispute over being paid 'thousands less' than colleagues carrying out similar roles. Unite the Union stated that the workers had been subject to high rates of verbal and physical abuse by passengers on the network, including being 'spat at' and 'attacked by a bottle'.
The staff work in the Compliance, Policing, Operations and Security Directorate division of the transport authority. The union claimed that the workers were being paid up to £27,000 less a year than their equivalent colleagues on the London Underground.
The team deals with violence and aggression across the Transport for London (TfL) network, which includes the Tube, London Overground, DLR stations and bus routes. Unite stated that workers had reported being racially abused, spat at, attacked with a bottle, punched and headbutted in recent months.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: "TfL's imposed pay offer is an insult to these workers, who play a vital role in keeping the public safe. They cannot keep being treated as second class employees compared to their London Underground colleagues. TfL must come back with an acceptable offer or these strikes will continue to escalate."
The industrial action is scheduled to start on February 20, continuing until February 22 and escalating if the dispute continues to not be resolved. Initial strikes took place across six days in December last year after a pay offer from TfL was said to have been imposed on workers despite being largely rejected, Unite claimed.
Unite regional officer Steven Stockwell said: "These workers regularly put themselves in physical danger for the security of the public. It is totally unacceptable that they are paid less than their London Underground colleagues performing the same role. TfL is entirely responsible for this dispute and the impact it will have on the network. It needs to come back with an acceptable offer."
A Transport for London spokesperson said: “We are disappointed that Unite has announced this strike action for members of our compliance, policing, operations and security directorate. We have held constructive discussions and have presented a plan of how we can work together to address their concerns.
“This action only impacts those who work in enforcement roles, but we will have officers across the network during the planned action to support customers and staff.”
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