Visor Trial Announced
Your TSSA Tier 2 reps have finally secured an agreement with LUL that will see a trial of face visors on stations. Your union has been at the forefront of the campaign for adequate PPE for frontline members and at this week’s health and safety forum the delegation led by Lorraine Ward won an important step to LUL providing adequate protection for you.
In April, our General Secretary publicly called for TFL and all rail providers to ensure this level of protection for members and today marks an important step towards this.
Covid-19 Assaults
We have seen a sharp rise in horrific incidents across the network of staff and customers being threatened and assaulted with the Covid-19 virus by passengers.
Coughing and spitting assaults have left staff feeling vulnerable and this hopefully will offer an added layer of protection that is badly needed. Please inform us at Tier 2 if you encounter threats or assaults of this nature.
LUL PPE Standards
PPE needs to conform to standards with a CE Mark which shows that the Visor complies with the requirements of the BSI’s PPE for Healthcare Professionals 2020/403 and LUL have the duty to provide appropriate PPE. The Trial will be discussed at safety council and we will be pushing for the best quality and standards. We will keep all members informed.
Recognition from ASLEF
Our sister union ASLEF who represent train operators on London Underground noted in the weekly Health and Safety forum "that TSSA had been raising the visors for weeks at this forum". This in itself shows the work that has gone into this crucial stepping stone towards a level of protection for members and colleagues alike.
Belly Mujinga
TSSA member Belly Mujinga was a ticket office clerk for GTR at London Victoria Station. She and a colleague were spat and coughed at on the concourse by a man claiming to have coronavirus. We do not know if that is how Belly and her colleague contracted the virus, but within two days they both had coronavirus and Belly – who had an underlying health problem – died in hospital leaving her husband and 11-year-old daughter.
Maggie Hayes, who represents members at GTR, has said:
"If the company is serious about protecting its staff then they must provide visors and put in place better health and safety measures at Victoria station and elsewhere. We won’t be letting this go."
