Coronavirus: Rail union demands staff be stood down on full pay after spitting incident

The Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association (TSSA) said today that the incident involved a drunk man on the Londonderry train who refused to disembark.

The union said: “The male passenger spat at and abused staff at Belfast’s Great Victoria Street station and attempted to assault both security staff and a female police officer.”

The union claimed he was covered in vomit and had soiled himself.

It said the man was arrested, and the incident caused delays on the line.

TSSA general secretary Manuel Cortes said: “Sadly, being spat and sworn at is a hazard our members face on a daily basis. It’s never acceptable, but at a time of global pandemic it is a much more serious assault.

“Nobody should be punched, sworn at or spat at just for doing their jobs. But this is especially true during this coronavirus crisis.

“I’m delighted that the police have taken it seriously and arrested the passenger.

“But this incident demonstrates how essential it is that Northern Ireland Railways stand down all non-essential staff on full pay immediately to protect them from unnecessary risk.”

Translink said: “We can confirm that staff onboard a train and at Great Victoria Street station on Wednesday were subject to anti-social abuse from a passenger.

“The PSNI were called to deal with this individual.

“We condemn this incident in the strongest possible terms and we will seek a prosecution. These are very challenging times; our staff are working extremely hard to ensure we continue to deliver vital bus and train services for key workers and those needing access to key services such as healthcare and food supplies.

“While this would not be acceptable behaviour at any time, the current COVID-19 outbreak means that there is a greater need than ever before to prevent this type of behaviour, which could pose a major health risk”.