TICE – The future of the bus service in the South remains guaranteed

FGFC plays on staff fears

Following the publication on 11 July of a press release by the President of the Staff Delegation (FGFC), without the agreement of the OGBL/Landesverband delegates, questioning the future financing of the CTBT by the Ministry of Transport, CTBT staff were concerned about the future of their jobs. The press release stated that the Ministry of Transport would not renew the existing agreement between the State and the CTBT at the end of 2024. In the worst case, the future of the TICE was at stake.

The OGBL/Landesverband reacted immediately and informed the staff that this issue had already been clarified in April at a meeting between the OGBL/Landesverband and the Minister of Transport. The OGBL/Landesverband reiterated that, according to the Ministry, there would indeed be changes in the CTBT network and that there would in no way be any job cuts at the CTBT. The opposite is true. A study commissioned by the ministry concluded that there would be a massive increase in traffic in the south. There is talk of 90,000 additional road users by 2035. For the TICE intermunicipal syndicate, this means a massive increase in staff.

Minister of Transport declares working group to be set up

The Minister of Transport put an end to the rumor by inviting all CTBT staff representatives to a meeting on July 19. Significantly, the OGBL/Landesverband did not share the FGFC’s panic from the outset.
”D’ Zukunft vum TICE bleift ofgeséchert,” the OGBL/Landesverband wrote in a press release. “No jobs are at risk at the TICE intermunicipal syndicate,” wrote the minister in response to the emotional letter from the TICE section of the FGFC.
This was confirmed by the Minister during the two-hour meeting on July 19. Tensions were eased. The Minister emphasized the central role of the CTBT in the future mobility concept for the south of the country in the complex context of cross-border public services. A working group consisting of the Ministry, the CTBT and the trade unions will now examine what form the new agreement will take from 2025 onwards and what role the CTBT will play. Some changes are not out of the question, not least because of European commitments. This applies in particular to the role of a regional syndicate within the European framework and to direct calls for tenders for public services. In addition, CTBT managers need to think about how to work more efficiently and adapt to new realities. During the negotiations on the agreement between the state and the CTBT, the latter was more notable for its apathy than for its constructive thinking.

No need to panic. The OGBL/Landesverband focuses on the facts

The fact is that the agreement between the state and TICE expires at the end of 2024 and will have to be renegotiated before then. However, basic bus services are still guaranteed. Negotiations on new requirements related to the new mobility concept are underway. However, we cannot expect the CTBT to be dismantled.  This is also what has emerged from the discussions held in recent months with many players in the bus sector. In the context of the National Mobility Plan for 2035 and a doubling of bus ridership, it seems clear that current CTBT services will be fully utilized and even expanded in the south of the country. There is therefore no question of staff cuts or other scenarios that would threaten the CTBT.

The OGBL/Landesverband has pointed out that some things will change as a result of local and national elections. The CTBT Board will be renewed. The current CTBT President will no longer be available.

Secondly, there will be changes in the CTBT management. Due to the illness of the former Director, this position also needs to be filled.
Thirdly, we have to wait for the national elections in October and the formation of the new government. Only then will we be able to put things right. Moreover, we don’t know today what the future of the country and the CTBT will look like in 2025.

OGBL/Landesverband stays in the picture

Keyword: Finances. If all the strings were pulled and the future of the CTBT were put on the line, politicians in the government and the CTBT would have to expect a massive protest from the OGBL/Landesverband.
Despite strong fears, the future of the TICE intercommunal bus syndicate is not in doubt. Nevertheless, the south of the country has to think about the period after 2025. A working group consisting of all the parties concerned will now start working on this task.

The OGBL/Landesverband will continue to fight for the interests of the CTBT personnel and for the extension of the CTBT. And it will do so with its usual cool head and tenacity!

FGFC incorrigible – attacks on the OGBL/Landesverband as an expression of its own incompetence?

Since the successful protest action of February 4, 2020 and the achievement of a link with the provision of the collective agreement of the communes of the south for the private-law staff of the TICE oil tankers, the FGFC section has been constantly acting against the trade union work of the OGBL/Landesverband. It should be remembered that the above-mentioned protest action initiated by the OGBL/Landesverband was originally conceived as a municipal action. On the day of the action, the FGFC distanced itself from the action of the tanker workers and was conspicuous by its absence.

Instead of standing up for the interests of the employees, the FGFC is acting against the staff representatives of the OGBL/Landesverband. It is undemocratically abusing its majority in the staff delegation to exclude OGBL/Landesverband staff representatives from working groups and commissions.

In order to completely sabotage the consistent trade union commitment of the OGBL/Landesverband, the FGFC recommended to the CTBT to limit the statutory trade union leave of the staff delegates of the OGBL/Landesverband to 6 days per year. The CTBT immediately implemented this welcome FGFC recommendation.

Instead of defending the interests of the staff, the FGFGC never tires of discrediting the commitment of the OGBL/Landesverband with baseless lies; most recently in its magazine, it accused the OGBL/Landesverband of “serious incompetence, disinterest, etc.” without providing any precise, concrete evidence.

The question of the driving forces behind this highly dubious action of the FGFC must be asked: Fear of the future, jealousy, self-deception, frustration, impotence, incompetence? The FGFC is playing on the fear of the future of its staff in order to defend its own interests.