Assaults against network employees increased by 6% last year, reveal figures from the Société de transport de Montréal (STM). The situation is such that the STM will soon launch a campaign to ask customers to respect its staff.
At least 348 attacks against employees were recorded last year, up 6% compared to 2022, figures provided to The Press by the STM.
This is just the tip of the iceberg, since this data only represents attacks recognized by the Criminal Code, such as assaults, threats and harassment.
“These figures are not a surprise, we read summaries every morning. […] We are aware that it is increasing,” comments the general director of the STM, Marie-Claude Léonard, referring to “a social phenomenon bigger than us.”
“We see it in other organizations that provide customer service: the kindness, the length of the fuse, is different from what it was in the past. »
PHOTO CHARLES WILLIAM PELLETIER, SPECIAL COLLABORATION
Marie-Claude Léonard, general director of the Société de transport de Montréal
The STM will therefore launch a new poster campaign in its network in mid-April. And this time, we won’t see colorful illustrations, but employees speaking to the public.
“It’s really a communication-awareness campaign that will be clear and firm regarding the importance of respecting the work of our employees. It’s a human serving another human. The more caring we are, the easier it is for everyone. »
The campaign will be launched on April 15, but the STM will not give details until it is presented to its employees in the week of April 8.
Drivers and constables attacked
Three quarters of reports concern bus drivers (185 cases in 2023, up 8%) and special constables (83 cases, up 30%).
“For special constables, there are attacks that can come from their interventions [lorsqu’ils sont] trying to de-escalate [une situation] », specifies Mme Léonard, recalling the “complex social context” linked to drug addiction and homelessness in the metro.
It is the Berri-UQAM station which generates the most cases, around thirty per year for the past two years. But more than half of the attacks occur outside metro stations, STM figures show.
Bus drivers are targeted more often than before the pandemic, confirm data compiled by their union, Local 1983 (CUPE–FTQ), which also represents metro operators, station agents and transportation drivers. adapted.
In 2023, 411 incidents targeting drivers were recorded, almost 65% of which were verbal attacks. These numbers are the highest since 2019, the last pre-pandemic year.
“What has changed is the type of aggression: verbal attacks happen at an astronomical speed,” says the president of the union, Frédéric Therrien, who drove buses until last May.
Only serious cases are recorded, he assures. “In 15 years, I have reported an attack and I have probably been attacked 50 to 70 times, at least. I’ve had people kick the windshield because I was late. I got yelled at because I didn’t pass a snow plow. »
When the bus makes a detour because of a fire, it happens that “the person gets angry, yells at us,” he adds.
These incidents are increasing even though ridership is only 80% of what it was before the pandemic.
“It does not necessarily reflect the number of passengers, but the state of the population in general. In businesses, you see that the world is a little more on edge than before,” notes Mr. Therrien.
Elsewhere in Quebec
Montreal drivers are not the only ones targeted.
The Société de transport de Trois-Rivières (STTR) struck a big blow last fall with a rap video produced by a duo of comedians, who reiterate basic instructions. “For TikTok or for music, you have to put on your headphones”, sing Doug & Jeff in particular.
Watch the video produced for the STTR
This clip broadcast at the beginning of September did not prevent three employees from being physically attacked in November and December. A driver was beaten, another had change thrown in his face, and a supervisor was pushed.
“For the size of Trois-Rivières, we didn’t have to deal with this kind of behavior before,” underlines STTR spokesperson Charles-Hugo Normand.
The STTR now uses a private security agency to “ensure the security of [ses] drivers and reduce cases of incivility” and, in the process, “watch the tickets to reduce fraud”.
No other physical attacks have been reported since December.
If we are talking about verbal violence, there would be no point in keeping a register, in the sense that verbal attacks occur every day.
Charles-Hugo Normand, spokesperson for the STTR
“There is really a major increase and companies [de transport] we see them, the statistics: it’s exploding, so we can’t ignore that,” says Benjamin Reid-Soucy, prevention advisor at the Joint Association for Occupational Health and Safety, Municipal Affairs Sector (APSAM).
Mr. Reid-Soucy is responsible for the “bus drivers” liaison group, a joint structure bringing together employer and union representatives from the province’s nine urban transportation organizations.
The situation is such that APSAM commissioned research from the Robert-Sauvé Research Institute in Occupational Health and Safety (IRSST). The mandate includes a review of the literature to find possible solutions.