2023-05-17 16:06:47
Former Postbus personnel manager flashed off in Bern court
He didn’t know anything regarding the illegal transfers: With this argument, a former post bus manager demanded bonuses of CHF 200,000. He didn’t get away with it in court.
The Post continues to withhold the funds frozen in 2018 pending all investigations.
Foto: Laurent Gillieron (Keystone)
In the biggest subsidy scandal in Swiss history, Swiss Post has achieved a stage victory: it does not have to pay the former personnel manager of Postauto AG, Walter Marti, the canceled bonus of 187,361 francs. That was decided by the Bern-Mittelland regional court.
According to the decision available to this newspaper, the court considers it proven that the manager “knew or should have known regarding the illegal booking practice”. Marti’s lawsuit, which he filed regarding two years ago, was therefore dismissed. He has to bear the court costs of 17,600 francs and also pay Swiss Post party compensation of 45,450 francs.
Post withholds bonuses
After the affair was exposed, Swiss Post fired the entire eight-strong management of Postauto AG in 2018. The executives received the fixed part of their salary until the end of their respective contract period. Swiss Post withheld the bonuses. The sums involved are considerable, because at that time the top managers at Swiss Post received a maximum variable salary component of 35 percent. However, not everything was paid to them. A third initially came to a blocked account, the so-called bonus bank. These funds might only be withdrawn following three years and only in stages.
The bonus bank no longer exists, it was abolished as part of the new postal strategy. However, Swiss Post continues to withhold the funds frozen in 2018 until all investigations have been completed. It takes the position that someone who has broken the law is not entitled to receive a bonus. The only problem is that the Federal Office of Police (Fedpol) is not getting anywhere with its investigations into administrative penal proceedings.
In addition to personnel manager Marti, other former post bus managers have also tried to sue for their bonus in court.
Only recently has the Federal Criminal Court ruled that Fedpol removed the records of 31 interrogations from the files and has to conduct the surveys once more. That annoys him, said Post boss Roberto Cirillo to the “Blick”. Not only because of the impending statute of limitations, but also because of the withheld bonuses from potentially guilty managers: “We want clarity regarding compensation,” said Cirillo in the interview.
Swiss Post reacted all the more happily to the civil law judgment of the Bern-Mittelland regional court. According to spokeswoman Denise Birchler, she sees her position confirmed, suspending the bonuses of all former PostBus management board members and the then Post boss Susanne Ruoff, and is now hoping for clarification of the criminal law issues.
In addition to personnel manager Marti, other former post bus managers have also tried to sue for their bonus in court. As a result, the Post definitely canceled their bonus. As part of the preparation for the process, the role of those concerned in the affair was dealt with in depth, Birchler explains the deletion and explains: “The decision of the Bern-Mittelland regional court has now confirmed that our approach was correct.”
First court ruling on Postbus bonuses
For reasons of personal rights, Birchler did not want to provide any information on the other pending proceedings. It has so far become known that the former Head of International Market, Beat Müller, went to the labor court in Geneva to have his bonuses paid out. He was neither involved nor informed “regarding any irregularities in the route calculation of Postauto Schweiz,” he explained years ago to the SRF television “Rundschau”.
So far, however, there has only been one first-instance material judgment on the bonus, namely this current decision by the Bern-Mittelland Regional Court. Whether Walter Marti will accept him or move on to the next instance is an open question. The former Postauto HR manager responded to inquiries from Tamedia not reacted.
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