Stib sacks 11 staff who developed scheme to avoid work

Brussels public transport operator Stib has dismissed 11 employees for serious misconduct after they "knowingly and systematically bypassed the company's time clock system in order not to carry out their work".

Alerted by reports in the press, the Stib launched an in-depth internal investigation into the allegations.

According to management, it turned out that 11 "multimodal agents" - who are responsible for supporting customers in stations and on the surface network - repeatedly bypassed the company's time clock system in order to make it appear that they were present at their post.

They either clocked in but didn't go to work or they furnished a co-worker or a subordinate with their badge which was used to clock them in on their behalf.

All the staff members concerned by this fraud are part of the "Service Unit Field Support" team. The task of multimodal agents is to assist customers on their journey.

Their mission is also to check the operation of the installations and to report any incidents. In the event of events or disturbances on the network, multimodal agents are called upon to manage vehicle flows.

Stib said it was "deeply shocked by such breaches of ethics and company rules, even limited to a small part of the staff".

The public transport operator added: "This requires a strengthening of managerial control at a time when responsibility should be the first value within the company.

"Nevertheless, the behaviour of some people must in no way reflect on all Stib employees who have again shown during the health crisis their dedication to serving customers".