Staff our Stations (SOS) Campaign

That the Parliament pays tribute to station staff across Scotland's railways and the vital role that they play in helping to deliver a safe, secure and accessible service; notes that they assist with train dispatch and safety at the platform-train interface, help to prevent suicides, make stations feel secure for vulnerable passengers, work to deter crime and terrorism, assist older and disabled passengers and aim to provide expert travel and ticket advice; condemns what it sees as the increasing trend by the train-operating companies to reduce and casualise staff; believes that this is leading to the de-staffing of stations and closure of ticket offices; considers that this threatens passenger service and safety and is leading to rising violence and crime; understands with concern that just 40% of ScotRail stations have a staffed ticket office and that the number of station staff decreased by 25% between 2015 and 2019, and supports the RMT campaign, Staff Our Stations (SOS), which opposes station closures and reductions to station staff and ticket offices, and promotes the benefits to passengers of fully-staffed stations.