Berlin- As a passenger, you don’t like to hear that. “At the moment we cannot offer you all journeys” – this was an announcement by the Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe (BVG), which came out of the loudspeaker on Monday morning in the Eberswalder Strasse subway station on the U2 line. The national company is not alone with its problem. At the weekend, DB Regio reported train cancellations on the route to BER. The S-Bahn Berlin had previously announced that it was thinning out its timetable – also because the sickness rate had risen. It is noticeable that the number of sick days in local transport has increased since the introduction of 3G in the workplace. “Many unvaccinated people do not feel like testing and stay away completely, so report sick,” said an industry insider of the Berliner Zeitung.
“We have been seeing an increase in sick leave in the company over the past few weeks. That’s typical for the time of year – flu infections, children are sick and so on, ”said BVG spokesman Jannes Schwentu on Monday. He did not address the corona measure 3G. On the other hand, Jeremy Arndt from the Verdi union said: “The BVG is struggling with the same problem as the S-Bahn. With her, too, the number of sick notifications has risen since 3G has been in place in the workplace. ”The result is that trips are“ on the order of magnitude ”and passengers have to wait longer than usual. One example is the area of the BVG bus depot in Britz in the south of Berlin, which includes important bus routes such as the M11, M41, M46 and X7.
BVG spokesman Schwentu commented on the subway. Regarding the announcements on the U2, he said: “In fact, there were individual failures there this morning due to very short-term sickness reports. But it still applies: There are currently no planned restrictions on the subway. The occupation of the driving services can be ensured in the further course of the week according to the current status. “
“The mood is in the basement”
Since November 24th: In order for employees to be able to visit their workplace, they must be vaccinated against Corona, have recovered from the disease or be in possession of a current negative test result. The BVG does offer tests in many places. But visiting the test sites means a certain amount of effort that some people shy away from.
“The mood is in the basement,” reported someone who knows the East German transport industry well. There are said to have been cases in which employees were so careless as to say in front of witnesses that they called in sick because of 3G and the associated test obligation for unvaccinated people. As a result, “labor law consequences were drawn,” it said. “Employees who do not have a vaccination certificate and then report sick for six weeks immediately afterwards, we go to the roof,” added an employee of a Berlin transport company.
The industry is facing major challenges. Before November 24, employers were not allowed to know whether their employees were vaccinated against Corona or not. Since 3G has been in place in the workplace, not only are they allowed to know, they also have to check the vaccination status. Some of them experienced “nasty surprises”, it is reported. A regional train operator in Saxony found out that not even a quarter of its staff had been vaccinated at the end of November. The corona vaccination rate is said to have been lower for freight railways in eastern Germany.
In the meantime, the consequences of labor law have caused a rethink among colleagues of those affected, it is reported. The announcement of compulsory vaccination caused the vaccination rate to increase further. Nevertheless, conflicts are still foreseeable, it said. Because train attendants are expected to check the passengers’ 3G certificates, there are always arguments. Without the support of the federal police, the task could hardly be accomplished – and sometimes dangerous.
“Corona is a topic that emotionalises”
Not only in Berlin do passengers still have to be prepared for restrictions. “Corona diseases, quarantine, childcare because daycare centers and schools are closed: Due to a high level of sick leave among train and bus company drivers, there are failures on some lines,” reported the Central Saxony transport association.
On Saturday, DB Regio announced that 15 journeys on the Airport Express between Berlin and BER will be canceled – “because of short-term sickness reports”. As reported, the S-Bahn will restrict traffic due to a sickness rate of more than eleven percent until the end of the year. On the lines S1, S3 and S5 the amplifier trains are canceled during rush hour, on the lines S26, S45 and S85 there are no S-Bahn trains at the weekend. While the passenger association IGEB often criticizes the fact that the BVG adjusts its offer without prior notice, the S-Bahn announced the deletions this time.
“Corona is also a topic for us that emotionalizes some,” said the DB company. After all, the vaccination rate on the S-Bahn is not as low as anywhere else. It is well over 70 percent.
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