Not only are attacks on rescue workers increasing, train attendants and railway service employees are also being harassed or attacked more frequently. A campaign is now intended to wake people up – and a controversial measure is also being tested.
According to the railway and transport union EVG, verbal and physical attacks are becoming an increasingly serious problem on buses and trains. The union is therefore committed to equipping employees on trains with body cameras. Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing (FDP) also appeared open to such considerations on Tuesday at a joint press conference with EVG boss Martin Burkert.
The minister said the use of body cameras, which could be switched on at the start of confrontations, had already been successfully tested. “Everyone depends on mobility and everyone depends on those who organize it every day being happy and motivated to do so in the future,” said Wissing.
The ministry and the EVG want to call for more respect with a new poster campaign in the coming months. Among other things, the posters use sentences such as “A good place for railway politeness” to promote showing more respect and respect for other people on both road and rail transport.
EVG boss: The trend in verbal attacks is increasing
Burkert said that verbal and physical attacks against railway employees occur every day – and the trend is increasing. “In the stations, on the buses, on the trains – all employees who wear uniforms are affected,” said the EVG boss. He cited the 9 euro ticket with many significantly fuller trains and the corona pandemic as the reasons for the increasing trend.
The forms of attacks are diverse. Wissing reported cases in which passengers prevented railway employees from closing the service office with their foot in the door so that they could still be served after opening hours. “Something like that is completely unacceptable,” said Wissing.
According to Burkert, the number of verbal attacks, including spitting, has increased fivefold in the past ten years. “The number of unreported cases is enormous, up to 70 percent do not report verbal attacks,” said Burkert. According to Deutsche Bahn, just over 3,100 attacks on the group’s employees were counted in 2022, half of which affected train staff on regional transport.
Wissing: The development of more attacks makes society weaker
According to Burkert, the new campaign fits in with other offensives, such as the “Never forget, a person works here” campaign by the German Trade Union Confederation DGB. In addition to traffic, this initiative also explicitly points out attacks against emergency services. Wissing emphasized that such incidents should generally be taken very seriously, “because such a development makes our society weaker.”
Deutsche Bahn announced that it supports every measure to promote more respect for its employees – including the new campaign. “Any form of violence against our employees is unacceptable and we condemn it deeply,” said Hans-Hilmar Rischke, head of DB Group Security. DB is also striving to increasingly use body cameras to better protect staff.
Source: Stern
