Belly Mujinga, two months on

Today (Friday 5th June) marks two months since Belly Mujinga died of coronavirus. Belly was a Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) ticket office clerk at London's Victoria Station and a member of our TSSA family. She left behind her husband and 11 year old daughter. Her story has touched many, with more than a million people signing a petition seeking Justice for Belly.

On the two month anniversary of Belly’s death, we are asking people to take a moment to think of all the transport and key workers who have lost their lives to coronavirus while bravely working through the pandemic to keep our country moving.

Please take action

• Share this graphic on social media
• Sign the petition
• Demand full protective equipment for all transport workers, including protective visors
• Ask the government to extend the coronavirus compensation scheme to transport and all key workers who have died from the virus
• Join a union

TSSA is seeking answers to questions about why Belly was working on the concourse the day an incident occurred with a member of the public and our calls to view the CCTV continue. TSSA is demanding risk assessments for all workplaces to take into account the higher risk of the virus to BAME workers.

Manuel Cortes, TSSA General Secretary, said: 

"It’s incredible to see the reaction to Belly Mujinga’s story, and two months on we’re asking people to direct their anger towards securing both justice for Belly and protection for all transport workers. As we say in the union movement, mourn the dead and fight like hell for the living.

"Our union continues to fight for justice for Belly. We reported the station incident to Her Majesty's Railway Inspectorate back in April and their investigation is ongoing. We are in dialogue with her employer, GTR, as well as many supportive politicians and campaigners. We also need protection for her colleagues, so many of whom are Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic people working on the front line. Right across our transport networks it’s vital that staff are protected from this virus.

"Wednesday’s Black Lives Matter protest showed just how much Belly’s story has touched the public. We salute the Black Lives Matter campaign for fighting racism and our union continues to be part of the struggle against racism in any form.

"As the petition reached a million signatures overnight, it’s great to see the public and politicians rally behind Belly’s campaign and it’s important that this energy is directed towards securing positive change and protections for all workers."