Ivrea
Yet another assault on board a public transport on an Ivrea city line: the victim, in this case, is an employee of a private carrier who collaborates with GTT to ensure service on the blocked lines 1 and 1. On Sunday 9 October, the agents of the Ivrea police station denounced a 23-year-old of Cuban origin for violence and threats to a public service officer. He was also charged with the interruption of public service.
The driver himself asked for the intervention of the police. According to the agents, the attack on the driver by a passenger would have occurred near the bus stop in Corso Massimo D’Azeglio. The young man, later found and identified by the agents, would have boarded the bus with a large dog without a muzzle. The driver would therefore have invited the owner of the dog to make him wear a muzzle, an indication that however would have been ignored by the passenger. At that point the driver would have invited the passenger to get out of the vehicle and in response the young man would have insulted and threatened the driver and then he would have hit him with a kick in the abdomen. The passenger with the dog would then have quickly gone away in the company of another person, with whom he was traveling, who turned out to be unrelated to the facts. The policemen who intervened, called by the driver, would then have intercepted and stopped the alleged attacker in via San Nazario. The case, in the preliminary investigation phase, is currently being examined by the Ivrea prosecutor’s office.
Giovanni Ambrosio, rsu of Filt CGIL in GTT, intervenes on the umpteenth attack against a driver while he is carrying out his functions for a public service. «We have ascertained what happened and it is a driver of a private carrier who provides a service for Gtt on lines 1 and 1 barred, the San Bernardo-Albiano-Bollengo section with alternate terminus on Sundays. The driver had previously worked on the Valle d’Aosta routes before those of the Ivrea area, at the San Bernardo d’Ivrea depot – says Ambrosio. – From what I learned, the discussion would have taken place because of the passenger’s dog boarded with him without a muzzle. The regulation provides that dogs, to get on the bus, must wear a muzzle to ensure the safety of all passengers. The driver behaved correctly, in compliance with the regulations, asking the passenger to make his dog wear it. From there, however, the discussion arose that would have resulted in an attack with a kick in the abdomen. After the checks in the hospital to check the state of health and a few days at home from work ». Unfortunately, according to the data available to the union representative, the attacks are unfortunately increasingly frequent: “Very often the drivers, like the employees of other public areas, are under attack by exasperated people and without respect for the rules of life civilian – continues Ambrosio. – We are faced with attitudes that represent everyday life. These attacks usually take place where there are fewer controls by the police, but it is not unusual for there to be episodes in the center, as happened last Sunday in Ivrea ».
Concerns are growing on the part of those seeking to change things. «When a driver is carrying out his duties he is alone during the work shift and is exposed to unpleasant situations – the trade unionist remarks. – It is unacceptable for workers performing public service to be attacked precisely because of their work. For years we have been asking the company, in the specific case of Gtt, to increase the checks on the territory and we have finally reached an agreement that we hope will improve the current situation ». Even politics, according to Ambrosio, must play its part in this juncture: «Institutions and politics must study measures to contrast these rampant aggressions. I believe it is unthinkable that the assailant of a driver, such as a doctor or other public sector employee, will meet his attacker again after two days. Then he complains when you turn away. The driver asked for the rules to be respected: what if he hadn’t done it and the dog had bitten a child or another passenger? We need measures that guarantee the safety of those who work, as well as those who use the services ». –