Brussels, 15/06/2010 (Agence Europe) - Whether or not the same rules should apply to self-employed bus and lorry drivers as to drivers employed by businesses was the subject of heated debate in the European Parliament plenary session in Strasbourg on Tuesday 15 June. Differences remain between those, such as the S&D, Greens/EFA and GUE/NGL Groups, which want self-employed drivers to be included in Directive EC/15/2002, and others, like rapporteur Edit Bauer (EPP, Slovakia) and the Commission, who oppose the idea. The plenary session vote will take place on Wednesday 16 June.
Transport Commissioner Siim Kallas, arguing for the Commission's proposal of October 2008, that self-employed drivers did not have to come within the scope of the 2002 working time directive but that the issue of “false self-employed” drivers had to be resolved, said that “Edit Bauer's amendments are a clear message to the industry: no false self-employed drivers”. He stated that, in terms of road safety, “working time is not driving time”. He also put it that, as we move out of the economic crisis, it was not the right time to add further to the administrative load of fragile small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
Thomas Mann (EPP, Germany), rapporteur on tachographs, said the basic question was whether or not the working time of self-employed drivers in the transport sector should be regulated. “The Commission and the EP say no,” said Mann, arguing that SMEs must be strengthened and there must be at least 11 hours' rest after 24 hours of work for everyone.
The position of Stephen Hughes (S&D, UK) on this issue has “not changed since 2002”: the self-employed have to be included in the directive. He said it was to be regretted that the rapporteur's conclusions pushed the Council and Commission line and not that of the employment committee, which voted, on 28 April, for self-employed drivers to be included in the road transport working time directive (see EUROPE 10128). “A tired driver is a dangerous driver,” Hughes said, attacking Bauer for confusing driving time and working time. “I have the figures for workers. The Commission proposal must be rejected,” he argued.
Marian Harkin (ALDE, Ireland) stated that there were no figures for work-related accidents that could justify the inclusion of self-employed workers. The problem, she said, was monitoring working time and competition on the sector. She said that if the Commission proposal was followed, a distorted piece of legislation would follow.
“Do we want a social Europe with fair competition and good working conditions or a Europe with unfair and dishonest competition?” asked Emelie Turunen (Greens/EFA, Denmark). “We want self-employed drivers in the directive. I reject the Commission proposal,” she went on.
Peter van Dalen (ECR, Netherlands) said “the debate is biased because self-employed drivers are protected. And citizens will be faced with another layer of bureaucracy”.
Ilda Figueiredo (GUE/NGL, Portugal) stressed the importance of the debate for road sector workers. “If self-employed drivers do not come within the 2002 directive, general conditions will be eroded to the benefit of big companies. Social dumping and deregulation will increase because there will be more and more false self-employed. The employment committee has already rejected this text, but the rapporteur has decided to go it alone in supporting the Commission and the Council. The proposal for rejection is one which we support otherwise workers' health and road safety will be in danger.”
It was to improve road safety that Mara Bizzotto (EFD, Italy) wanted “self-employed workers to be covered by the directive”.
In the spring, the European Parliament rejected the text proposed by Commissioner Tajani, who promised fresh proposals, noted French Socialist Pervenche Berès, who chairs the social affairs committee: yet no proposals had reached the committee. Bauer, Berès stated, “has no mandate to make proposals”, and the Commission and Council have “knowingly broken the operating rules of this institution”. How could Parliament accept a first reading agreement which “reduces our capacity for negotiation”, she asked, protesting that, while the Lisbon Treaty re-balanced relations between the institutions, the EP risked giving up its ability to use its collective intelligence to reach decisions. She called for the text to be sent back to committee.
Several MEPs followed her lead, including Elizabeth Morin-Chartier (EPP, France), who felt that the Commission proposal “allows unfair competition” and was not in the interests of hauliers, permitting social dumping between member states. “You disappoint me,” said Spanish Socialist Alejandro Cercas, addressing both the rapporteur and the European Commission, by putting business over people. Eva Lichtenberger (GUE/NGL, Austria) went further criticising the “private agreement between an MEP and the commissioner”, an agreement which unfortunately, she said, fed European dumping. Veronica Lope Fontagné (EPP, Spain) also regretted the proposal, stating that Spanish unions and employers had specifically called for self-employed workers to have the same protection as other hauliers. Saïd El Khadraoui (S&D, Belgium) would have liked to have seen more pragmatic negotiation on this text, but he was intransigent on one point: there has to be uniformity at European level. That was also the position of Raffaele Baldassarre (EPP, Italy), who fears dumping among European countries.
The rapporteur, Edit Bauer, can, nevertheless, count on the support of a number of MEPs. Her proposals are helpful to SMEs, said Julie Girling (ECR, UK); they cut red tape, added David Casa (EPP, Malta). Finnish MEP Timo Soini (EFD) complained about any new constraints: the self-employed must not be restricted, with the risk of stifling competition that that would bring. In his opinion, Bauer's conclusions should be approved.
“Despite the temptation to launch into a very detailed debate, I won't. I confirm the Commission's position which is based on facts. We don't have all your scientific reports, but we think that the working time regulations should be implemented and that the personal safety of all drivers on the road has to be ensured. Some may feel that the SMEs should be subject to stricter legislation, but the Commission, cannot impose that on companies. Every business person has to be free to organise his or her working time. If Parliament decides to include self-employed drivers, the Commission will respects its wishes and will immediately sound out member states on this issue,” said Commissioner Kallas.
Bauer responded to the criticism: (1) Regulations: “MEPs have a free mandate. The regulations do not require MEPs to support the Commission, it's the plenary which extends a mandate to the rapporteur. I have had informal contact with the Commission and Council and with the shadow rapporteurs”; (2) False self-employed drivers: “The problem is vast and not specific to the road sector”; (3) Respect for monitoring: “Monitoring is carried out nationally and certainly costs less expensive than the cost of moving the EP between Brussels and Strasbourg”. (4) Third country drivers: “Their position is less secure than ours: if the Commission proposal is not accepted, we will find ourselves in an inextricable situation”. (G.B./L.G./transl.rt)