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Because there was an error at ZKB, 30,000 city employees received double their February wages on Monday.
A wage bill of 175 million francs. That’s how much the city of Zurich actually wanted to transfer to its employees this Monday. But instead of the usual wage amount, around 30,000 civil servants received double their February wages. The reason: a system error at the Zürcher Kantonalbank ZKB. A total of 350 million francs.
Everything went correctly with the city administration itself. A joint media release from the city of Zurich and the ZKB initially stated clearly that the fault for the technical breakdown lay with the ZKB. Over the course of the afternoon it became clear that an error in the software of a Swisscom supplier was apparently the reason for the breakdown.
Is the error with Swisscom?
The ZKB published a corresponding statement from Swisscom. The exact reasons are part of the ongoing investigation, according to Swisscom. And: “Swisscom is in close contact with those responsible at ZKB and the city of Zurich in order to find a quick solution for everyone involved. Swisscom is aware of the explosive nature of this incident and apologizes for the inconvenience caused.”
After the breakdown became known on Monday morning, all internal processes in the human resources department and financial administration were immediately checked, says Claudia Nägeli, head of communications at the city’s finance department, when asked by Radio SRF. They also contacted the ZKB immediately – they were quickly able to rule out that the city was at fault.
Legend: Huge buck at ZKB: Instead of 175 million, the bank transferred 350 million francs to Zurich city employees. Keystone / Ennio Leanza
The city employees were then immediately informed on the city’s own intranet. A few staff members then came forward and joked about the alleged snub and what it might mean.
Attention: obligation to pay back
But the 30,000 people affected cannot be happy about double the wages – there is an obligation to repay them. Exactly how this should take place is currently being negotiated. The Zürcher Kantonalbank is now working with the city on a solution for easy repayment, it is said.
Legend: His finance department worked correctly and is not to blame for the wage mishap: CFO Daniel Leupi (Greens). Keystone/Ennio Leanza
The city of Zurich is currently missing a three-digit million sum due to double wage payments. However, the city of Zurich does not have any liquidity problems, says Claudia Nägeli. By the way: all city employees, without exception, received twice the salary – from city councilors to city police officers to interns. And now everyone has to transfer it back again.