AGENTS are under such stress at work that many are on
medication, according to the industry’s leading trade union official.
Seyi Clement – former negotiations officer for the
Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association – said many shop staff are taking
prescribed drugs such as Prozac to get through the day. He said aggressive
management and the over-use of disciplinary action are often to blame.
Lifting the lid on the shock state of the industry,
Clement blasted: “The travel industry has more people on Prozac than any other
– more than sectors where staff suffer physical attacks.
“There is more long-term depression and sickness in
the trade than in construction, on the railways, in freight companies or the
docks.”
Clement spoke out having left the TSSA after five
years at the end of last month.
He claimed a staggering 60% of his time had been spent
dealing with agents’ problems, most of them attributable to stress.
Unpaid overtime had become “endemic”, he said, with
staff expected to attend training in their own time, work through lunch and
stay late.
He said as many as four out of five of those who quit
leave the trade for good. Only one in five leavers go to another agency, he
said, suggesting campaigns to woo back former employees are unlikely to work.
Clement was sympathetic to the difficulties companies
face, citing the “huge pressure on margins”, but he blamed a lack of management
training for the high stress levels and said there was no excuse for bosses
being “aggressive and oppressive”.
Clement also admitted he was
appalled how poorly agents are paid and accused companies of “taking advantage”
of the dedication shown by staff.