Age of OSE staff far above EU average

Staff at the Hellenic Railways Organization (OSE) tend to be older, with an average age of 42 against the European Union average of 55, and the majority appears to be concentrated in Athens and Thessaloniki, facts and figures from the company have shown.

According to a report by the organization published last year on its overall performance in 2021, of its staff of 1,000 at the time, 89 were aged between 61 and 71 years old, 400 were in the 56-60 age group and 300 workers were between the ages of 46 and 55.

“The age of employees at OSE gives little reason to be hopeful that they will be able to become familiar with new technologies or in terms of their reflexes more generally,” a human resources consultant for the private sector tells Kathimerini. The problem is even more acute when it comes to positions out in the field as opposed to desk jobs, the same source adds.

On the flipside, optimists speak about the abundance of experience but also the fact that in terms of the number of workers per kilometer of railway, Greece is close to the European average. They also point to a recent announcement for new hirings. Indeed, an invitation for expressions of interest was issued by the company on November 29, 2022, for 90 positions in a variety of different areas. Applicants were required to have a high school diploma or above, though the age cap of 42 means that the new positions will not go very far in terms of rejuvenating the company’s workforce. At the same time, the majority of the positions were for pointsmen and stationmasters, while just 10 were for rail electricians.

Another issue that becomes apparent when looking at the company’s staff report is the fact that more than 50% of OSE’s employees are based in Athens and Thessaloniki. In the central Greek city of Larissa, an important station and the area where Wednesday’s deadly collision took place, OSE had a staff of 62 people in 2021, which was a significant drop from the 80 it had there in 2020. There are also several regions, such as Xanthi, Imathia, Pella, Florina and Karditsa, where OSE had just one employee, begging the question of what happens when they go on holiday or have to take a sick day. In contrast, OSE has between 22 and 54 people on its staff in the regions of Fthiotida, Magnisia, Evros and Achaia.

There are a few more interesting facts and figures that shed light on the human resources profile of the Greek railway company and these include the fact that just 18% of its workforce comprises women. Of the 1,000 staff employed in 2021, meanwhile, the payroll costs for 843 mentioned in the company’s annual financial report (which obviously refers to permanent staff, as opposed to the performance report that also includes seasonal and short-term workers) came to 36.953 million euros for that year. This means a monthly salary of around 2,000 euros a month, on average.

Moreover, Greece’s railway network (active and temporarily inactive) stretches across a total of 2,716 kilometers, with just 74% of that being regulation width, as defined by the European Union. This puts the average payroll cost per kilometer of rail track at 13,622 euros.