Working with suicide prevention charities

ASLEF works with industry partners and the Samaritans suicide prevention charity on initiatives to skill-train drivers in trauma awareness and to participate in cross-industry work to reduce the number of railway suicides.

Negotiating with train operators to allow trained Samaritan staff to talk with trainee drivers during their initial training has raised awareness about trauma and human reactions to traumatic events.

The union also attends the Rail Industry Suicide Stakeholder Group (RISSG), a subgroup of the overseeing suicide prevention programme board. ASLEF’s work aims to reduce the potential for suicides on the rail network and provide trauma management and support for staff and passengers or the public involved in or witnessing suicide incidents. The group’s work includes identification and delivery of initiatives at high-risk locations, commissioning research into why people choose the railway to take their lives, and working in partnership with local providers such as councils to reduce suicides on the railway.

Since 2010, there have been more than 28,000 staff interventions with members of the public on stations who have been suicidal.