Harassment rife on the rails

Swiss Federal Railways has a problem with sexual harassment, according to a new survey.

At the end of last year, the SBB asked all 35,000 employees about discrimination, bullying and sexual harassment.

About 12% said they felt discriminated against, 7% said they’ve been bullied, and 4% say they’ve experienced sexual harassment.

Mainly women say they feel they’ve been discriminated or harassed – but there was no significant gender difference with bullying. 

One of the major problems is the training of drivers where two people are in cramped conditions for long periods of time.

Esther Weber from the locomotive crew association says some male workers take advantage of the conditions to get close to mainly younger female colleagues. 

The SBB says it takes its responsibility seriously and all allegations are investigated. 

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