Official Badulescu: 2,000 employes of Bucharest Transport Company to be furloughed

Deputy Mayor of the Capital City Bucharest Aurelian Badulescu on Tuesday informed that 2,000 of the 11,000 employees of the Bucharest Transport Company (STB) will be furloughed, as a result of the number of passengers having significantly reduced in the last period, in the context of the restrictions generated by the novel coronavirus pandemic.

"Of the 11,000 employees of the STB, 2,000 are to be furloughed. This means that they will only receive 75 per cent of their salaries as stipulated in their labour agreements. This number, of 2,000, will not grow in the future. This is a situation generated by the low number of passengers we have during this period," Badulescu told AGERPRES.

He said the measures will stay in force during the entire time of the state of emergency.

For the other employees, the working schedule will be reduced from five down to four days a week, which measure refers first of all to the motormen and bus drivers.

At present, STB uses only 35 per cent of its fleet, said the Deputy Mayor.

"We also have the other activities that we carry out during this time, the routes from the Otopeni Airport to the counties where there are quarantine centres, which STB coordinates together with the ISUBIF (Inspectorate for Emergency Situations Bucharest-Ilfov). We have 40 motor vehicles that we use in doing these routes in the entire country," he said.