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Better pay may reduce poaching of Metro staff
By Dong Zhen |
October 25, 2011, Tuesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
EACH year, Shanghai's Metro loses half, more than 3,000, of its experienced technical personnel to subway operators in other cities or manufacturers in related industries, who double their pay.
Management of the rapidly expanding city-owned Metro management said last week that core positions vulnerable to poaching and high turnover include experienced drivers, dispatchers and technicians - the heart of smooth and safe operations.
As soon as they get the technical expertise and a few years of experience to become a dispatcher, they are snapped up and move on. This means that few remaining technical staff are older than 30 years.
Shanghai has China's largest and most developed Metro system and the network has boomed in the recent decade as the city sought to build infrastructure for the showcase Shanghai World Expo, and it's still going full speed ahead. But in terms of salaries, including for core technical workers, Shanghai Metro workers are at the bottom, Metro management officials told Shanghai Daily.
Yin Wei, an official of the Metro Operation Co, said a local Metro dispatcher, with two to three years' job experience, earns 3,000 (US$470) to 4,000 yuan (US$627) each month. A daily maintenance technician earns around the same.
"However, salaries for the same positions offered by Metro operators in some secondary cities or Metro-related manufacturing or engineering companies are at least double what we are able to pay," Yin said.
The system employs 7,000-8,000 skilled people, including dispatchers, controllers, drivers, various kinds of engineers, technicians and technical support staff. Around half of those positions must be filled with new people each year; turnover is greatest among dispatchers and controllers, whose skills are needed in other systems, including railways.
This turnover and lack of retention of the key people has a clear impact on safety for the system that is known both for its frequently minor glitches land major troubles.
The latest major accident occurred on September 27 in a pile up on Line 10 that sent 295 passengers to the hospital. No one was killed. The public was outraged. At the time of the crash, the service was operated at limited speed with manual dispatch controls following an electrical blackout that damaged the signaling system. The city government report on its investigation said a dispatcher made mistakes and gave wrong orders, which led to the crash.
Brain drain
Higher pay won't solve all the problems but it could help retain good staff and improve morale.
"A Metro dispatcher, who supervises Metro traffic in the control room, is supposed to the best of all staffers and the 'brains' of the system," Yin said.
It requires at least five years for a dispatcher to be well experienced and skilled but most Metro technical workers and dispatchers are on the job for less than three years, said Zhang Lingxiang, an operations manager with the Metro company.
"Because of the intense work pressure and lower pay, some dispatchers quit the profession or leave to join services in other cities such as Suzhou, Hangzhou and Shenzhen soon after they started to get experienced," Zhang explained.
Many secondary cities in China are starting to develop Metro services and are eager to hire experienced Metro workers. Shanghai Metro, which has a well-developed staff training system, accordingly becomes a main source for poached candidates.
"Some technicians are also attracted by the related engineering industry because pay is much higher," said official Yin Wei.
In addition to dispatchers and drivers, technicians are critical because they oversee daily maintenance; they routinely check safety and other systems, carry out tests and repair trains after a day's service when they return to maintenance depots.
In the case of the September 27 crash, Metro officials said that after a long period of stalled traffic, an inexperienced dispatcher totally forgot there was not just one, but two trains on the key segment of track.
Metro managers said the accident "was a wake-up call" for them to improve training of dispatchers to make them better prepared for what they called "rare" emergencies.
Officials said they would order more emergency drills that simulate various emergencies; these are intended to improve judgment and the ability to make fast, sound judgments and take fast actions to save lives.
But it is unlikely the metro company will raise salary levels to retain highly qualified workers, Yin said, adding that the system is state owned and operations are funded by the city government.
Industry insiders told Shanghai Daily a veteran railway train dispatcher in China, performing work similar to that of Metro dispatcher who manages railway traffic, is paid about 100,000 yuan a year.
Management of the rapidly expanding city-owned Metro management said last week that core positions vulnerable to poaching and high turnover include experienced drivers, dispatchers and technicians - the heart of smooth and safe operations.
As soon as they get the technical expertise and a few years of experience to become a dispatcher, they are snapped up and move on. This means that few remaining technical staff are older than 30 years.
Shanghai has China's largest and most developed Metro system and the network has boomed in the recent decade as the city sought to build infrastructure for the showcase Shanghai World Expo, and it's still going full speed ahead. But in terms of salaries, including for core technical workers, Shanghai Metro workers are at the bottom, Metro management officials told Shanghai Daily.
Yin Wei, an official of the Metro Operation Co, said a local Metro dispatcher, with two to three years' job experience, earns 3,000 (US$470) to 4,000 yuan (US$627) each month. A daily maintenance technician earns around the same.
"However, salaries for the same positions offered by Metro operators in some secondary cities or Metro-related manufacturing or engineering companies are at least double what we are able to pay," Yin said.
The system employs 7,000-8,000 skilled people, including dispatchers, controllers, drivers, various kinds of engineers, technicians and technical support staff. Around half of those positions must be filled with new people each year; turnover is greatest among dispatchers and controllers, whose skills are needed in other systems, including railways.
This turnover and lack of retention of the key people has a clear impact on safety for the system that is known both for its frequently minor glitches land major troubles.
The latest major accident occurred on September 27 in a pile up on Line 10 that sent 295 passengers to the hospital. No one was killed. The public was outraged. At the time of the crash, the service was operated at limited speed with manual dispatch controls following an electrical blackout that damaged the signaling system. The city government report on its investigation said a dispatcher made mistakes and gave wrong orders, which led to the crash.
Brain drain
Higher pay won't solve all the problems but it could help retain good staff and improve morale.
"A Metro dispatcher, who supervises Metro traffic in the control room, is supposed to the best of all staffers and the 'brains' of the system," Yin said.
It requires at least five years for a dispatcher to be well experienced and skilled but most Metro technical workers and dispatchers are on the job for less than three years, said Zhang Lingxiang, an operations manager with the Metro company.
"Because of the intense work pressure and lower pay, some dispatchers quit the profession or leave to join services in other cities such as Suzhou, Hangzhou and Shenzhen soon after they started to get experienced," Zhang explained.
Many secondary cities in China are starting to develop Metro services and are eager to hire experienced Metro workers. Shanghai Metro, which has a well-developed staff training system, accordingly becomes a main source for poached candidates.
"Some technicians are also attracted by the related engineering industry because pay is much higher," said official Yin Wei.
In addition to dispatchers and drivers, technicians are critical because they oversee daily maintenance; they routinely check safety and other systems, carry out tests and repair trains after a day's service when they return to maintenance depots.
In the case of the September 27 crash, Metro officials said that after a long period of stalled traffic, an inexperienced dispatcher totally forgot there was not just one, but two trains on the key segment of track.
Metro managers said the accident "was a wake-up call" for them to improve training of dispatchers to make them better prepared for what they called "rare" emergencies.
Officials said they would order more emergency drills that simulate various emergencies; these are intended to improve judgment and the ability to make fast, sound judgments and take fast actions to save lives.
But it is unlikely the metro company will raise salary levels to retain highly qualified workers, Yin said, adding that the system is state owned and operations are funded by the city government.
Industry insiders told Shanghai Daily a veteran railway train dispatcher in China, performing work similar to that of Metro dispatcher who manages railway traffic, is paid about 100,000 yuan a year.
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