Train Drivers Federation Protests against Body Cameras (2)

Bratislava, 1 April (TASR) – The Federation of Train Drivers (FS) on Wednesday protested against the introduction of body cameras monitoring train drivers' work, calling it a non-systemic measure that will do nothing to improve rail safety or prevent accidents. According to the trade union, investments are needed in the European Train Control System (ETCS) on tracks and trains, in additional signalling on high-risk sections, in improving the technical condition of rolling stock, and in better professional training. It urged the government and the Transport Ministry to scrap the idea of cameras in cabs. FS Vice-president Peter Dubovsky told TASR that the aim is to address safety through effective measures rather than cameras. "Cameras can't prevent accidents; signalling and communications systems can," he said, adding that installing cameras would be money wasted. "A camera only serves to investigate an accident. We don't want to investigate accidents; we want to prevent them. Every action by a driver is already recorded by signalling equipment, so this is just duplication at high cost," he added. Dubovsky estimated the turnout at around 150 participants on Freedom Square near the Transport Ministry. Railway workers repeatedly chanted "We don't want cameras", with support from the Trade Union Confederation, the Railway Workers Trade Union Association and other transport unions. At noon, train horns sounded for 30 seconds across Slovakia in symbolic support, said the organisers. Transport Minister Jozef Raz (nominee of Smer-SD) had been invited but didn't attend. The drivers criticised the ministry for pushing ahead despite FS's strong opposition, a petition with more than 1,500 signatures, and an expert opinion from the Transport Research Centre Brno, which didn't recommend cameras in cabs. Petition committee chair Matej Motycka said that the profession is already among the most monitored. "In the neighbouring Czech Republic, a planned introduction of cameras was abandoned and there has been massive investment in ETCS; even Romania has overtaken us in signalling quality," he said, adding that in Germany trains without signalling systems are limited to 60 km/h, compared with up to 120 km/h in Slovakia. "In Austria, the use of cameras in cabs is even banned by law," he noted. Raz said ahead of the protest that drivers have the right to demonstrate, and he respects their concerns about privacy. He said that body cameras are being tested by passenger carrier ZSSK and would show only drivers' hands to minimise intrusion into their privacy. "This isn't meant to harass them. The recordings are to be used only in the event of an accident," he said. He compared it to bank employees working under cameras, arguing that human lives, like money, are a protected public interest. "When someone has as many as a thousand people behind them on a train, they should tolerate certain limits to their privacy," he said, adding that the ministry will insist on the cameras. The opposition has also commented on the issue, with MP Jan Hargas of Progressive Slovakia saying that cameras aren't the solution to systemic rail-safety problems. "After 15 years of Fico governments, we lack modern tracks, modern vehicles, modern signalling systems and even drivers themselves," he said. MP Marian Viskupic of Freedom and Solidarity added that cameras can't stop a train, read a signal or fix system failures. "They aren't a systemic solution. They won't prevent accidents, only help to investigate them. Drivers aren't the problem; on the contrary, they're often the final safeguard in a system that is under-resourced, underfunded and chaotically managed," he said. NOTE: This story has been extended to include the final two paragraphs mf/df