RMT Action Against Assaults campaign at Scottish parliament calls for new law

The RMT is demanding a new law to safeguard transport workers in Scotland against a sharp rise in assaults. This comes ahead of a meeting with MSPs in Holyrood.

Action Against Assaults

The union will hold the ‘Action Against Assaults’ event at the Scottish Parliament on Wednesday 11 February at 1pm.

This event will bring together:

• The cabinet secretary for Justice and Home Affairs, Angela Constance MSP.
• MSPs from across the chamber.
• The British Transport Police.
• Rail and passenger ferry operators.
• Passenger organisations.

RMT general secretary Eddie Dempsey will set out the union’s demand for the creation of a standalone offence of assaulting or abusing a public transport worker at work. This is similar to protections already in place for retail staff and emergency service workers.

The union is calling on all political parties contesting the Scottish Parliament elections in May 2026 to commit in their manifestos to introducing such legislation if elected.

Dempsey said:

No worker should go to their job fearing they will be assaulted, abused or threatened simply for doing their job.

But that is the daily reality for far too many public transport workers.

Seventy per cent of rail workers have faced violence in the past year and nearly half of our ferry members say the threat of violence is harming their mental health. That is a scandal which demands action.

We welcome the engagement from the Scottish Government to date and the meeting with the Cabinet Secretary for Justice, but warm words must now become law.

Retail and emergency service workers rightly have specific legal protection and we want the same for public transport workers too.

As we approach the 2026 Scottish Parliament elections, every party must commit to creating a standalone offence of assaulting or abusing a public transport worker.

An RMT survey found that 70% of rail workers in Scotland experienced workplace violence in the past year. 80% believed violence had increased over the same period. The survey identified lone working as a major risk factor. Nearly 60 per cent of those who experienced assaults said they were working alone at the time.

The union also highlighted Scottish government research from 2023 which found that women and girls feel significantly safer on public transport when staff are present. This applies at stations, in ticket offices and onboard trains.

Nearly half of RMT passenger ferry members reported that the threat of violence at work has negatively affected their mental health.

In 2022, the Scottish government confirmed it was exploring the creation of a standalone offence.

Since then, a working group involving rail unions has been convened to consider enforcement measures. The cabinet secretary for Transport, Fiona Hyslop MSP, told parliament that stronger legal protections were under consideration and that the government was taking the matter “extremely seriously”.

Featured image via the Canary