46 vacant engineering positions in Banedanmark threaten to delay a number of smaller railway projects in Denmark. Banedanmark’s director of finance and resources, Anne Hougaard Olesen, told Børsen on Tuesday that Banedanmark was not competitive in terms of wages and working conditions, and that this was the reason for the many vacancies.
Structural problem
However, that problem is structural and is due to, among other things, demographics and economic fluctuations. And since Banedanmark is a state agency, it requires political intervention if more money is needed. And it will be untimely interference in the conditions of the labor market and the Danish tripartite model if the politicians allocate more money to recruit and retain employees in Banedanmark. This is what the Moderates’ transport spokesperson, Peter Have, says:
Supply and demand
– I run a hotel myself, and I need cooks and waiters. It is a problem that has arisen because we have a boom. The staff can just throw a dart and get a new job wherever it hits. And it is supply and demand that drive up wages, says Peter Have.
Management must be on the field
As a starting point, it is not an issue that the Moderates’ transport rapporteur will address politically. Unless there is an inquiry from Banedanmark itself:
– I could ask for an explanation of what the problem really is. Are the employees fleeing? Or are they “just” unfilled positions? I do not want to deny that politically in the conciliation circle we can discuss the framework. But as a starting point, Banedanmark’s management must be on the track themselves and manage the operation within the framework they have, says Peter Have.
Less road – more rail
Enhedslist’s transport spokesperson, Jette Gottlieb, believes that rail should be prioritized over roads. In this way, it will be possible to free up resources for Banedanmark:
– My immediate answer is that you should transfer resources from the road section to the track. If you’re speaking in general terms, I have a couple of infrastructure plans I think should be abandoned. For example, the Kattegat connection and the Egholm motorway. It must free up engineering resources that can be retrained for railway technology, writes Jette Gottlieb in an SMS to FemernReport.
