Belgrade transport unions condemn management over bus accident statement

Three trade unions at Belgrade's public transport company (GSP) have strongly criticized the management's official statement following a bus accident. The incident occurred after the driver, identified as Z.M., experienced a health emergency while operating the vehicle.

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In a moment when the bus driver Z.M., who honestly and responsibly performs the duties of a trolleybus and bus driver in GSP 'Beograd,' is recovering due to a health condition that worsened during the drive, acting director Zoran Šarac finds 'guilt' in his written public address that the vehicle, at the time of the accident, 'was not moving along the route prescribed by the company's internal regulations'.

The unions, including "Centar"-GSP "Beograd," "Sloga GSP," and the Union of Employees in Belgrade Public Transport, stated they do not agree with the management's explanation. They specifically refuted the claim that the bus was not following its prescribed route at the time of the incident. The unions asserted that the driver, a long-time professional, was using the shortest and most common route for public transport vehicles.

Management, led by acting director Zoran Šarac, had suggested the bus's deviation from an "internal route" contributed to the accident. The unions countered that no internal GSP document specifies a route for vehicles returning to the depot after their shift. They characterized the management's statement as an attempt to deflect responsibility from systemic issues like frequent vehicle breakdowns, aging infrastructure, and passenger dissatisfaction.

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The route on which the unfortunate event occurred when the driver fell ill has no bearing on the facts and the event itself, so we assess this management statement as an attempt to shift responsibility onto GSP drivers who diligently and honestly perform their jobs, in situations where they are exposed to extreme stress, frequent breakdowns of older vehicles, and passenger dissatisfaction.

The unions accused the management of using the incident to threaten drivers with "the strictest disciplinary procedures and criminal charges." They interpreted this as a message that drivers are viewed as "expendable goods" to be intimidated, thereby masking the company's financial problems and poor equipment. The unions vowed to fiercely resist any disciplinary measures against drivers whose health is compromised at work and pledged to scrutinize the performance of directors who allegedly allow daily problems to occur.

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The GSP unions are sending a message that they will fiercely oppose any attempt at disciplinary prosecution and punishment of drivers whose health is endangered at work, and in the coming period, we will pay special attention to reviewing the work of all those directors in GSP who, through their inaction, allow excesses and problematic situations with GSP vehicles to occur almost daily, where drivers and other basic activity workers suffer the most, and directors hide behind shameful public statements.