[ad_1]
An SBB employee controls a passenger. Image: sbb
‘Train staff are fed up’: staff shortage on SBB trains has consequences
With more than 100 full-time positions on customer service staff missing, more and more have to work alone. It is a security problem, they warn. The SBB weighs it.
How can a single SBB employee take care of all the passengers on a 400-meter long long-distance train consisting of two separate compositions? This question is increasingly being asked by fellow railway customers. Due to the lack of staff, more and more have to do their work alone, they accuse SBB.
With the reorganization program “Customer Support 2020” implemented in 2018, SBB not only abandoned the title of “train conductor”, but also the principle that each long-distance train must be manned by two employees. However, SBB promised that, for the most part, customers’ partners will continue to appear in pairs in the future. There will also be two employees on the trains after 10pm
In addition, there would be priority controls, in which individual trains with many employees would be controlled at the same time. Double escort will only be abolished when the same service for customers is possible with one employee, a spokesperson said at the time.
SBB is testing completely smoke-free train stations in Switzerland
Video: srf / Roberto Krone
More than 200 critical connections
However, statistics from the Train Staff Association (ZPV) now paint a different picture. In recent weeks, the sub-association of the railway union SEV has been notified of more than 200 long-distance trains accompanied by a person, in which, in the opinion of the staff, two employees would have been needed. This includes, for example, long-distance trains with two compositions, between which it is not possible to change during the trip, but also trains after 10 p.m. According to the SEV, not a single one of the promised key controls has been carried out since 2018.
“The commitments made by SBB are not being met,” SEV Secretary Jürg Hurni said in a letter from the union. The staff shortage is so great that one-piece coaches have no choice but to assign individual companions so that at least one companion can travel on all long-distance trains. ‹There is a shortage of more than 100 full-time customer service employees,› Hurni says. “The train crew is getting fed up and losing confidence in the leadership.”
“The reason is catastrophic planning”
Ralph Kessler is president of the ZPV. Your association maintains statistics on the accompaniment of a person. This is not intended to be complete, he says. The client’s companions suffered from the current deficit. “If there is only one companion on a 400-meter train, we may have a safety problem in certain circumstances.” Because these trains also stopped at stations whose platforms are less than 400 meters long, situations in which the attentive gaze of the customer’s companion is especially needed.
Many fellow clients felt uncomfortable in such situations. Kessler sees the cause of the deficit in “catastrophic planning.” There are also locomotive, maintenance or cleaning staff, where SBB deals with many temporary employees. “The problem is that we can hide the sub-inventory more easily. If a conductor is missing, the train won’t run. If only one customer partner is used, many customers don’t even notice it. “
Cities that can be reached from Zurich by night train
SBB contradicts the SEV
The head of HR at SBB, Markus Jordi, is responsible. At least one improvement is emerging: by the middle of next year a balanced workforce should be achieved, new employees are already in training. Corona simplifies hiring: “SBB should have no problem at this time hiring staff,” says Kessler.
SBB contradicts the description of the union in some places. A spokesperson, for example, reports a shortage of around 60 full-time positions today, and therefore fewer than what the SEV reports. In addition, spot checks would be conducted, the spokesperson said. Due to stock shortages, the railway is currently concentrating on ensuring two-person escorts on trains with heavy traffic or late at night. “That corresponds to the common position of SBB and its social partners.”
On trains starting at 22.00 hours, security personnel are also currently providing support, so that the customer’s companions move in pairs despite the lack of stock. “From December to February, about 130 employees come from the training,” the spokesman said. These classes are delayed for two to three months due to the lockdown in the spring, contributing to the tense situation. Around 130 more employees joined in the summer of 2021.
