Study on Working Conditions: Bus Drivers Increasingly Dissatisfied
It was commissioned by the alliance "We Drive Together", which includes the vida union and the Vienna Chamber of Labour. 80 percent of respondents believe that it would be difficult to find new employees under the same working conditions - with many overtime hours and no extra pay regulations.
Bus Drivers are Largely Dissatisfied with Working Conditions
Furthermore, 60 percent of the surveyed bus drivers do not feel sufficiently appreciated. A majority still enjoy their work. However, this is contrasted by unsatisfactory working and framework conditions, including little predictability, difficult compatibility in service allocation, and inadequate extra pay regulations. "But the expansion of public transport necessary for the mobility transition will need more workers in the future, not least because of the expected wave of retirements in the coming years," said the study author and sociologist Emma Dowling at a press conference.
A total of 35.7 percent of respondents said they work overtime at least once a week, 31.8 percent almost daily. "We are tired and exhausted from the flood of overtime," said bus driver and head of the collective bargaining team Anil Zümrüt. Furthermore, 91.2 percent of study participants find too little time for leisure and hobbies. More than a third of respondents also stated that they do not have access to a break room during working hours.
"Improvements to the Situation are Overdue"
According to the surveys, there is a desire for shorter working hours, "but there is also concern that earnings would then be lower," the study says. The current minimum wage per month, as stipulated by collective agreement, is 2,790 euros gross. Apart from the basic salary, missing or low extra pay regulations were mainly mentioned as a problem. "Improvements to the situation are overdue (...) They are also a condition for winning the urgently needed additional workforce," the study concludes.
Martin Horvath, spokesman for the bus industry in the Austrian Chamber of Commerce, expressed surprise at the statements made at the press conference: "Our goal is to continuously improve their (the bus drivers') working conditions." The current entry-level wage, which is even above the entry-level salary of metal workers, clearly shows "what has already been achieved". According to Horvath, the social partners should rather work on solutions that satisfy both the employer and employee side, "instead of investing time in press conferences."
The study overall provides a solid substantiation of the union's demands. Between June and August 2024, the study authors conducted problem-centered interviews with 22 drivers who work in the private bus industry in line traffic. An online survey was also conducted, with a total of 640 people participating. The timing of the publication is probably no coincidence - the first collective bargaining negotiation for the currently around 12,000 employees at private bus companies was inconclusive, the next one will take place on January 24, 2025.
(APA/Red)
This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.