SBB has to save – SBB announces cost-cutting measures for staff wage deductions – News

  • SBB’s debts currently amount to CHF 11 billion. The railway company therefore wants to save on wage costs and cut back on wage deductions, as she informed her employees in an internal letter.
  • The SBB started negotiations with the social partners on Friday. The planned measures are “unacceptable” for the unions.
  • Before Labor Day on May 1st, Transport Minister Simonetta Sommaruga met SBB shunting workers in Bern.

The SBB has to save. In the financially “extremely tense situation”, the SBB would therefore like to start with the wage deductions, “where it has previously participated more than average”, as it writes in an information to the employees and which is available to the Keystone-SDA agency.

The unions had previously sent a communication on the planned measures. They described the austerity measures as “unacceptable”. This reduces the purchasing power of all employees and weakens the protection of those over 50. The employees had to pay for past management mistakes and pay for the consequences of the Covid crisis, even though they were constantly at work, according to the statement from the four HR organizations at SBB.

According to a spokesman, the SBB informed the employees on Friday about the intentions. 44 percent of SBB costs are wages and social security benefits. “We have to think about what savings are possible here,” SBB boss Vincent Ducrot is quoted as saying in the information.

Planned savings measures of the SBB


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The SBB are planning two savings measures for wage deductions: The deduction for the costs of days absent due to illness is to be increased. In addition, the risk contribution to the pension fund contributions is to be increased. Additional benefits in the event of occupational disability are also to be abolished.

These adjustments are to apply from 2023. All employees would participate in the same percentage based on their wages. The planned measures should also contribute to job security at SBB. SBB, on the other hand, wants to refrain from wage cuts or downsizing.

According to the unions, the SBB management wants to “simply abolish occupational disability” with the measures. According to the unions, the planned risk sharing in the pension fund contributions and the increase in the employee contribution to the medical costs of the SBB management reduce the purchasing power of the employees.

The financial situation of the SBB is tense. The company therefore wants to save around six billion Swiss francs from its own resources in order to secure the financing for the long term until 2030. In addition, the federal government expects further savings of around CHF 80 million per year from 2024 through lower costs or higher income.

Switzerland stands still without shunting workers

On the occasion of Labor Day on May 1st, Federal Councilor Simonetta Sommaruga met SBB shunting workers at Bern train station on Friday. The visit dealt with the working conditions and the automation in the railway sector, which belongs to your DETEC transport department. Federal Councilor Sommaruga chose SBB shunting personnel because “without them, Switzerland would literally stand still” and her hard work is often forgotten, DETEC wrote in a statement.

Legend:

Federal Councilor Simonetta Sommaruga talks to SBB shunting specialist Max Zürcher at Bern train station on the “Welle”.

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With the introduction of the so-called digital automatic coupling, the shunting profession is facing major changes. This automation relieves the physical strain on the staff and will mean that more goods can be transported by rail in the future.

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