RMT union chiefs point to ‘horrendous’ stories of workers being spat on, abused and attacked while on duty on trains, buses and ferries.
A trade union is demanding a new law to protect transport workers in Scotland against a surge in assaults.
Gordon Martin, the RMT’s Scottish organiser, said members have told him “horrendous” stories of being spat on, abused, threatened and attacked while at work on trains, buses and ferries.
The RMT is to rally outside Holyrood this week demanding a new standalone offence for assaulting transport staff – similar to protections for retail workers introduced in 2021.
It comes as British Transport Police reported a 43 per cent increase in assaults against Scottish rail workers between April and September last year, compared to the same period in 2024.
A recent RMT survey found 70 per cent of women staff had experienced workplace violence in the past year.
Martin told the Sunday Mail: “It was only a few short months ago we had the terrible situation in Cambridgeshire of a mass stabbing on a train, with victims including the train manager, and the guard on that particular service.
“That is at the more extreme end of the scale, but it still happens.
“More commonly, there’s a lot of low-level verbal abuse, people getting spat on, people getting threatened. When I say it’s low-level, that’s not to say it’s not important, because of course it is.
“You end up with people traumatised and it happens right across the transport sector, from pier workers on the ferries to railway guards and ticket examiners.
“I’ve heard horrendous stories of station staff in particular facing real, heavy threats as well as people actually getting attacked.
“We hope a new standalone offence against assaulting a transport worker when they’re on duty will act as a deterrent..”
But he added this would have to go hand-in-hand with an increased police presence in trouble spots and a boost to public transport staffing to prevent lone working, particularly at train stations.
The union says it wants all parties to commit to measures to tackle violence on public transport ahead of May’s Holyrood election.
The most common abuse reported by women transport workers last year was verbal assault, followed by threats of physical violence, while over 20 per cent said they had been sexually harassed.
Lone working was identified as a major risk with about 60 per cent of those who experienced violence saying they were on shift alone at the time.
Three-quarters of respondents said violence at work was getting worse.
Scottish Government research published in 2023 also found women and girl passengers feel safer on public transport when staff are present at stations, in ticket offices and onboard trains.
For shop staff in Scotland, a 2021 law made it a specific criminal offence to assault, threaten, abuse, obstruct, or hinder retail workers, with offenders facing up to 12 months imprisonment, a fine of up to £10,000, or both.