Metro Trains Melbourne and Assure transcript

Paul O'Halloran: We have a very diverse working environment at Metro along with all of the daily life challenges that people are exposed to. We also have a very unique set of challenges that a railway experiences. And sometimes our staff are exposed to very traumatic episodes in their life. The wellbeing of our team and our frontline staff is extremely important to Metro Trains. We have the Employee Assistance Program, which is a partnership that we have with Assure, which offers 24/7 support to all of our frontline staff. Whenever they've experienced a traumatic event or if they're having any other challenges in their life, whether they be health, financial, whatever it may be.

Gerard Beven: That the range of services that Assure provides Metro Trains are quite broad and comprehensive from a wellbeing perspective. It includes traditional counselling, coaching, leader support, response for significant events and holistic support to help individuals in all areas of life. What's new at the moment is the Wellbeing Gateway. Importantly, it's accessible 24/7 and people can access support face-to-face, via the phone and through Wellbeing Gateway.

Carol Nugent: My name's Carol. I'm a train driver with Metro Trains Melbourne. I'm also a trauma trained on the job trainer, so not only do I drive trains myself, I also train the people coming through to become qualified train drivers. Not only do train drivers experience traumatic events, they can have things happening outside of work. So for example, they may have a problem, a family issue, a financial issue that they need someone to talk to about. It could be even something like domestic violence that they need to talk through it with a work colleague. And we can actually assist them and put them onto the EAP services provided by Assure, where they have professionally trained mental health practitioners who can assist them with those things.

Kym Arbid: My name is Kym Arbid, I work for Metro Trains Melbourne. I've been in the electrical networks' industry for about 18 years now, and my role is a high voltage planner, first aid mental health advocate, and a peer supporter. After being approached by one of your peers for mental support or for just a chat, it's important just to send them in the right direction. I'm passionate about it. I've been through depression myself in the past and come from a hard upbringing. So being that and having support and help, now that I'm in a good headspace, I want to give back, so I like to do it and help people. Yeah, it's very rewarding.

Carol Nugent: We can actually also ourselves access Assure. How do we approach a certain subject, a stressful area that someone might be going through. We may want some assistance ourselves on how to approach it and how to support our work colleagues through that program.

Jacquie Lyons: Yeah. It's important to recognize that these people who are peer supporters and our wellness advocates are all volunteers. They give up their time, they're passionate about the work that they do. There's 150 plus strong cohort, and they do their job every day, but they also find time to actually support our people. And it's a fantastic achievement by those individuals who'd worked tirelessly, not just for the organization, but for their peers and for the people and as a family. It's a really one Metro, one team approach.