METRO WORKERS’ CHARTER OUR JOBS ARE YOUR RIGHTS
Introduction
Metros are a key component of an integrated public transport system. They are the most efficient way of moving a large number of passengers along and across transport corridors and networks. They move more quickly and are among the most efficient modes of public transport.1
Metros are essential in reducing local inequality within cities. Accessible and efficient metro systems, interconnected with other modes of public transport like buses, trams, and rail are an essential means of effectively combatting climate change, promoting a modal shift to public transport, connecting communities that depend on public transport every day and thereby promoting social justice by realising mobility as a fundamental human right.
Metro workers are the pillars of metro systems, and the major force behind guaranteeing the right to the city for millions of passengers worldwide.
Despite the expansion of metro systems, creating more jobs and serving more passengers, the emphasis in many systems on automation, outsourcing and digitalisation has increased pressure on workers and affected the quality of services. Passengers worldwide have repeatedly expressed preference for human interaction over machines, as well as the need for more workers in ticket collection and customer services to mitigate different safety risks to passengers. A more efficient and safe metro is a more humane one, and that can only be achieved with more workers. 1
Metro workers face challenges like threats to decent and high-skilled jobs from automation, digitalisation, job cuts in certain positions, harassment from passengers and gender–based violence. Metro workers and their unions also face privatisation and outsourcing processes. These have been shown to threaten the safety of the system, labour conditions for workers and the quality of services for passengers.
As metro workers, we believe that expanding public transport is a cornerstone of fighting inequality, combatting climate change, and expanding the right to the city for the millions of people who depend on it.
Employers, both private and public, will often cut corners in the name of efficiency, sustainability and cost control. This dan–gerous ideology leads to fewer workers doing more work with lower pay in more stressful environments.
This Metro Workers’ Charter articulates key priorities that must form the cornerstone of a renewed and efficient metro sector, focussed on providing a quality public service, fighting inequalities and centring workers and passengers.
I. Fair Wages and good working conditions
1. Across the board, workers at all pay levels are struggling to keep pace with the rising cost-of-living. Employers must make the local living wage the minimum starting wage for all. No matter their job classification and employment status, all workers deserve fair pay.
2. Adequate breaks, rest periods and access to appropriate facilities must be provided to all metro workers.
3. All workers must have fair and predictable scheduling with a focus on maximising full-time work.
4. Zero-hours contracts should be banned from metro operations.
5. Metro workers must have the right to unionise and engage in collective bargaining to advocate for their rights and interests.
II. Insourcing and Bans on Outsourcing
1. Metro operations should prioritise insourcing over outsourcing, ensuring that all services are provided by directly employed workers with full rights and the same working conditions as everyone else in the system.
2. Outsourcing should be banned in metro operations, bringing outsourced tasks into the core organisation.
III. Health and Safety
1. Operational safety for workers and passengers is paramount.
2. Metro workers deserve to work in a safe and healthy environment. Management should implement robust health and safety protocols to protect workers and passengers alike.
3. There should be a ban on the use of asbestos in all metro systems, which is internationally monitored and regulated.
4. Adequate training, protective equipment, and resources should be provided to mitigate occupational hazards and prevent accidents or injuries within the metro system.
5. Climate change needs to be incorporated as a health and safety hazard, with protocols adapted to the effects of extreme weather events on metro systems. Flooding, heatwaves and air pollution should be prioritised for such adaptations.
IV. Public Ownership and Control
1. The metro system should remain publicly owned, operated and funded, serving the interests of the community rather than profit motives.
2. Decision-making processes related to the metro system should be transparent and accountable to the public, with mechanisms for unions and community input and oversight.
3. Metro systems should be taken into public control when currently in private operations or concessions.
V. Housing and Gentrification
1. Metro operators, public transport authorities and local governments must prioritise affordable housing initiatives to address the challenges of gentrification and ensure that workers can live in the communities they serve.
2. Every metro station and project should consider housing as a key component of its development, with housing for metro workers and their families as a priority.
3. Metro operators, public transport authorities and local government must collaborate with affected communities to mitigate the displacement of residents due to metro-related development projects, which often lead to the over–valuing of housing in the vicinity.
VI. Fares and Funding
1. Fares for metro services should be affordable and equitable, considering the diverse socio-economic backgrounds of passengers, and that public transport is a right that should not be subjected to profit-making ventures.
2. Sustainable public funding should be allocated to the metro system to support maintenance, operation, expansion and improvement initiatives without compromising affordability for passengers or fair compensation for workers.
VII. Technology
1. No automation without negotiation. Human intervention in metro systems needs to be a pillar of metro operations.
2. Technological advancements within the metro system should be harnessed to enhance safety, efficiency and accessibility while ensuring job security for workers. Human presence must be prioritised in all operations.
3. Automation should not cause the displacement of any worker, including women workers who are often disproportionately affected.
4. Workers and unions should receive fair notice and explanation when new technologies are introduced and their impacts on different occupations, including those jobs mostly done by women workers.
5. Metro operations should minimise monitoring, surveillance and algorithmic control over workers.
6. Metro workers should be provided with training and support to adapt to technological changes and contribute to innovation within the system.
7. Metro operators must implement safeguards for workers and passengers for the use of artificial intelligence.
8. Technology transfer and technology sovereignty needs to be guaranteed for all metro systems. Metro systems in the Global South need to be able to shape the implementation of technological changes in their own contexts.
VIII. Gender Equality
1. Metro workplaces must be free from gender-based violence and harassment, with policies and procedures in place to address any instances of misconduct. All metro workplaces must prioritise and negotiate the implementation of ILO Convention 190 and Recommendation 206 on Violence and Harassment in the World of Work.
2. Efforts should be made to promote gender diversity and equality among metro workers through recruitment and retention measures, including equitable representation in leadership positions and opportunities for advancement.
3. Metro operators must provide promotion, training and retraining opportunities to support women of all ages into higher paid work, such as in driving, supervisory and management positions, and roles created by new technology.
4. Metro infrastructure and services must include adequate facilities for women workers and passengers, such as toilets and the provision of clean drinking water.
5. Health and safety measures must take into account the needs of women, including uniforms, personal protective equipment and scheduled toilet breaks.
6. Working hours and shift patterns should accommodate the family responsibilities of people of all genders, and address safety risks of early and late shifts, for example by providing transport to and from work.
IX. Climate Change
1. The metro system should actively contribute to efforts to combat climate change by prioritising sustainability, reducing carbon emissions and promoting environmentally friendly practices.
2. Metro workers should advocate for policies and initiatives that support the transition to renewable energy sources and reduce the ecological footprint of transport systems.
X. Working Time
1. A reduction in working time at no loss in pay should be a priority in metro systems around the world.
