On the DLR, a certain Service Team Leader is causing grief amongst staff. He has developed a nasty habit of taking people to one side and giving them an ear-bashing about penalty fares. Some people might call his behaviour 'bullying'. Especially if he pressurises staff working alone on trains to dish out penalty fares and put themselves in danger of a punch in the face.
The company should note that targets for penalty fares are a nonsense. Penalty fares, we are continually told, are supposed to discourage fraudulent travel. If the system works effectively, everyone will buy a ticket and no-one will incur a penalty fare. In which case, perhaps the staff's target should be 'zero'.
Tubeworker topics
A Pattern
This is becoming a pattern across the railway industry. Southeastern are trying to cut ticket office opening hours and increase lone working amongst revenue staff.
Heavy-handedness from a manager is going to pressure people into doing penalty fares even if they are on their own, even if it puts them at risk. So we should stand by each other, complain as individuals about any manager who tries to bully people, and get our union to complain too. That way we can stop intimidation and give each other the confidence not to give in to it.
Oh, and we might be trained to avoid conflict, but the passengers aren't!