Narrative:

There seems to be a chronic problem with the ZZZ station being short cargo workers for the last couple of months. On the first flight when we called taxiing in; we were told that there would be a delay because of lack of ground personnel. The marshaller guiding the plane in seemed unprepared (no wands; vest); because she was running out to park the plane. Once we were parked; the marshaller told us that there were no qualified personnel as marshallers and when they realized they would be short for the night tried contacting their station manager. Because they were unable to reach their manager; they called ZZZ1 station to see if they would have better luck getting in touch with the ZZZ1 manager. No luck. I felt that the cargo workers should not be marshalling or starting the planes due to lack of training. I saw a couple of our mechanics heading toward the hangar and flagged them down and asked if they could wait long enough to get us out of the station. Although their shift was over; one of the mechanics waited to see us out. Before we left; the ZZZ agent told the crew she was able to contact one of the trained contract service agents to stay over from his shift for the rest of the night. Although we brought a cargo agent with us from ZZZ1; ZZZ only had a total of 4 agents to turn the plane. And the agent from ZZZ1 was returning with us. The ZZZ workers are stressed by this constant lack of personnel and they feel there is a lack of concern for their safety due to the demands of the workload required to move cargo in a timely manner.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: B737 CAPT CITES CONCERNS WITH STATION STAFFING.

Narrative: THERE SEEMS TO BE A CHRONIC PROB WITH THE ZZZ STATION BEING SHORT CARGO WORKERS FOR THE LAST COUPLE OF MONTHS. ON THE FIRST FLT WHEN WE CALLED TAXIING IN; WE WERE TOLD THAT THERE WOULD BE A DELAY BECAUSE OF LACK OF GND PERSONNEL. THE MARSHALLER GUIDING THE PLANE IN SEEMED UNPREPARED (NO WANDS; VEST); BECAUSE SHE WAS RUNNING OUT TO PARK THE PLANE. ONCE WE WERE PARKED; THE MARSHALLER TOLD US THAT THERE WERE NO QUALIFIED PERSONNEL AS MARSHALLERS AND WHEN THEY REALIZED THEY WOULD BE SHORT FOR THE NIGHT TRIED CONTACTING THEIR STATION MANAGER. BECAUSE THEY WERE UNABLE TO REACH THEIR MANAGER; THEY CALLED ZZZ1 STATION TO SEE IF THEY WOULD HAVE BETTER LUCK GETTING IN TOUCH WITH THE ZZZ1 MANAGER. NO LUCK. I FELT THAT THE CARGO WORKERS SHOULD NOT BE MARSHALLING OR STARTING THE PLANES DUE TO LACK OF TRAINING. I SAW A COUPLE OF OUR MECHS HEADING TOWARD THE HANGAR AND FLAGGED THEM DOWN AND ASKED IF THEY COULD WAIT LONG ENOUGH TO GET US OUT OF THE STATION. ALTHOUGH THEIR SHIFT WAS OVER; ONE OF THE MECHS WAITED TO SEE US OUT. BEFORE WE LEFT; THE ZZZ AGENT TOLD THE CREW SHE WAS ABLE TO CONTACT ONE OF THE TRAINED CONTRACT SERVICE AGENTS TO STAY OVER FROM HIS SHIFT FOR THE REST OF THE NIGHT. ALTHOUGH WE BROUGHT A CARGO AGENT WITH US FROM ZZZ1; ZZZ ONLY HAD A TOTAL OF 4 AGENTS TO TURN THE PLANE. AND THE AGENT FROM ZZZ1 WAS RETURNING WITH US. THE ZZZ WORKERS ARE STRESSED BY THIS CONSTANT LACK OF PERSONNEL AND THEY FEEL THERE IS A LACK OF CONCERN FOR THEIR SAFETY DUE TO THE DEMANDS OF THE WORKLOAD REQUIRED TO MOVE CARGO IN A TIMELY MANNER.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of January 2009 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.