A Flight Attendant reports being asked by the Purser to assist with security duties while the pilots take a restroom break. She is alone on her cart with no place to stow it and is surprised the Purser had asked due to regulations concerning unattended carts in the asile.

Narrative

During the service the pilots requested a break. The Purser came to me to ask that I help fulfill cockpit security procedures. Unfortunately I was working the cart (by myself) with another Flight Attendant and cart in front of me. There was no place to move and/or stow my cart. I advised that I was unable to leave my cart unattended and could not assist in fulfilling cockpit security duties and asked that she wait for a few minutes. The Purser seemed surprised and in discussing the FAR later she mentioned that she hadn't considered the FAR as she was 'so used to what other flight attendants did.' This was an excellent and very knowledgeable Purser so her response surprised me. It concerns me that other flight attendants may be inadvertently violating FAR's as they try to accomplish all their required duties. It also concerns me that there are not enough flight attendants to fulfill all of our required duties. The company reduced staffing to reflect the reduced 'meal service offerings' but has not considered the staffing reduction's impact on safety and security procedures.