Train union threatens strike action if staff and
drivers are not protected
Leaders condemn ‘complete shambles’ on London network
that is ‘fraught with danger’
Lisa
O'Carroll and Molly Blackall
Wed 13 May
2020 15.38 BSTFirst published on Wed 13 May 2020 11.50 BST
Train
unions have said they could take industrial action and stop trains if drivers
and passengers are not protected from coronavirus, after photos emerged of
packed London Underground services as many people returned to work following
seven weeks of lockdown.
Transport for
London indicated that the number of commuters remained relatively low at 63,000
on Wednesday morning, up 7% on the previous day.
Photos
taken at Finsbury Park station on the Victoria line showed commuters – mostly
men – standing inches apart in carriage door wells with few wearing masks. Men
have died from coronavirus at twice the rate of women in England and Wales,
according to the Office for National Statistics.
As the
first lockdown relaxation came into place the Rail, Maritime and Transport
(RMT) union said Boris Johnson’s return to work message was “fraught with
danger”.
Mick Cash,
the general secretary, said strike action could be necessary to “protect
workers and passengers”, adding that staff would be entitled to refuse to work
if they did not feel safe.
“If that’s
what needs to be to keep people safe then we will stop trains,” he told Sky
News.
Despite an
appeal by TfL for passengers to wear face coverings on public transport, it
appeared that few were doing so.
Tube
workers also said there was a “complete shambles” during the suspension of part
of the Victoria Line after reports that a passenger had collapsed.
“Social
distancing during the peak was a joke. During the suspension our carriages were
heaving. It will get worse,” said one worker.
One woman
going to work in a laboratory said it had been easy to keep two metres apart
from other people for most of the lockdown. But since last week her commute had
become significantly busier, with less effort to distance, she said. People had
also stopped using face masks and gloves on buses and trains.
“People
used to queue for the bus socially distanced, or stand to one side on the
pavement, but now they don’t move over. People don’t care as much any more,”
she said. “I think if they haven’t got sick by now, they think they’ve got away
with it.”
The
transport secretary, Grant Shapps, said the government was asking commuters to
be sensible, while admitting he would not get on a tube or bus.
Some photos,
for example one taken at Liverpool Street station, one of the busiest
interchanges for commuters from Essex and east London, showed some people were
able to adhere to physical distancing.
Some buses
in the capital were reported to be busier than normal following the prime
minister’s message that people should return to work if possible from
Wednesday.
The
Automobile Association said the roads in England, the only country in the UK
where the relaxations apply, were about 10% busier on Wednesday.
TfL said on
Monday it would have to reduce passenger numbers to 13-15% of normal levels to
achieve physical distancing of two metres.
With daily
numbers last April of nearly 4 million, that would mean limiting the number of
people using the network to get to work to as few as 600,000.
It said
passenger numbers up to 10am on Wednesday were 7.3% higher than the same day
last week but were still a fraction of the normal level. Just over 63,000
passengers travelled between 7am and 10am, compared with more than 1 million at
the same time this time last year.
In its plan
for the capital published on Monday, TfL urged people to stay at home, only go
to work if it is essential, and to wear face coverings on the network.
Johnson
said in his address to the nation on Sunday that those unable to work from home
should start returning to work from Wednesday, but urged people to avoid public
transport and to drive, cycle or walk.
Unions say
this is not a viable option for many in the capital who do not have a car and
live too far away from their place of work to cycle or walk.
TfL is
progressively increasing the frequency of trains to reverse the reduction in
services during lockdown, with a view to operating at 70% of normal capacity by
next Monday.
It will
also reopen some of the 37 stations it closed, but it said these would not
include lift-only stations because it would be impossible to maintain safe
distances.
UK transport minister says he wouldn’t get on
crowded bus
Grant Shapps urges UK commuters to avoid public
transport as some people in England return to work.
By LAURENZ
GEHRKE 5/13/20, 3:24 PM CET Updated 5/13/20, 3:31 PM CET
U.K.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps warned commuters to avoid public transport as
people in England who can't work from home were encouraged to return to their
workplaces from Wednesday.
"We're
asking people to be very sensible and not flood back to public transport,
Shapps told Sky News Wednesday morning. "There will not be enough space.
Only 1 in 10 people will be able to travel without overcrowding," he
added.
"Take
a car ... walk, take a bike," Shapps said. "It is very important that
we enable enough space on public transport for key workers, people who have no
other option."
Asked by
BBC Breakfast if he would personally get on a crowded bus or Tube, he replied:
"No, people should try to avoid that."
However,
pictures showed crowded tube trains and buses in London and some London
Underground workers reported social distancing wasn't always possible during
peak commuting times, the Guardian reported.
The
Department of Transport on Tuesday updated its coronavirus guidelines,
recommending people "should avoid using public transport wherever
possible." However, face coverings are recommended rather than compulsory,
unlike in many other countries.
Earlier
this week, the story of London ticket collector Belly Mujinga, who died from
COVID-19 after being spat at by a man who said he was infected with the
coronavirus, prompted concern among transport workers about the lack of
personal protective equipment. Transport union TSSA said they were
"shocked and devastated" at the loss.
"Rather
than talking about easing the lockdown, the government must first ensure the
right precautions and protections have been taken so more lives are not
lost," the union said.
Authors:
Laurenz Gehrke
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