The Ministry of Transport ordered an investigation into the new buses

Research, New buses

An investigation is underway in relation to the new buses in Nicosia and Larnaca, carried out jointly by the Department of Road Transport and the Electromechanical Service, following explicit instructions from the Minister of Transport, Giannis Karousou.

Last Sunday, the minister aroused the heads of the two departments, asking the two technical services of the ministry to cooperate and proceed immediately to investigate the differences in the safety systems between the buses driven by the drivers in Nicosia for 10 years and those who drive. from the 5th of July onwards.

G. Karousos requested a report on these differences, but also to investigate the level of training of drivers in the new systems, so that they can be thoroughly trained if necessary, to drive them safely.

The instructions were given, after a new - fortunately without victims or serious damage - incident by bus, which happened on Saturday at Anthoupolis station. Driverless bus, moved backwards and stopped at signs and fencing. It was the third such incident in a few days.

A tragic aspect of the new serious incident was the fact that an eyewitness was the daughter of the driver - victim of the accident last week, as well as residents of the area who made their cross that there were no new victims.

The similarity of the incident with last week's fatal accident with the same type of new bus, as well as other similar incidents that the minister was informed about, as well as some minor accidents that occurred on routes in the last days in Nicosia, led the company to issue leaflet with instructions for drivers on the position, how to use the parking brake and the stop signs of the buses.

Measures for additional training and measures in relation to this issue are also taken by the company, as stated by its representative.

In the meantime, an investigation is expected to be carried out by the Ministry of Transport in collaboration with the Labor Inspection Department and in relation to the observance of the Regulations for tachograph drivers in the first fortnight of operation of the new bus contractor in Nicosia, at the request of PEO. ΣΕΚ. The request for a full investigation in relation to the tachographs and the observance of the binding hours, total working hours and breaks, was submitted after many complaints from drivers that they worked for many days with exhausting hours and in violation of the regulations for tachographs and the legislation on drivers' working hours, proposing safety issues as well.

Conflict climate with a loss of confidence

A process is underway at the Ministry of Labor between the unions and the employers' side of the Nicosia buses, with a series of issues that the PEO has put on the table.

On Friday and Tuesday, long meetings took place without result, with the PEO having lifted its trust in the company and asking that any issue that arises be discussed and decided before the labor relations officer of the Ministry of Labor.

Red cloth was a letter from the head of Cyprus Public Transport to all employees of the company, in connection with which, the secretary of the union SEGDAMELIN - PEO Athos Eleftheriou, immediately commented in response to the company, that it was a letter that "is full of inaccuracies And "false information", and described it as "leniently unacceptable and provocative".

The disputes remain even after the new meeting before the Director of Labor Relations of the Ministry of Labor, with the employees' representatives requesting that as agreed and with specific reports the obligation (and through the contract with the state) of the company to maintain the contracts and terms work for a year as they were. The company disagrees with such an agreement, stating that it fulfills its obligations.

As the head of Cyprus Public Transport, Julio Tironi, stated to "F", the mediation in the Ministry concerns a completely new issue raised by the PEO. To give guarantees from the company, that it will maintain "exactly the same working condition as that of the employees at OSEL". This is impossible for various reasons, adds Julio Tironi, "at least in terms of the exact meaning of the wording." The company has proposed to analyze together with the union, the cases in which the unions believe that there is a change compared to previous conditions.

The Ministry of Labor expects a document with recommendations on the issues of disputes, in order to have a consultation between the parties, which will facilitate the effectiveness of the next meeting before the Labor Relations Service.

Source: Philenews