On Monday 15 May, the Commissioner for Transport, Violeta Bulc, and the Commissioner for Energy Union, Maroš Šefčovič, hosted a meeting for social partners so that the latter could make their observations known before the presentation of the mobility package on 31 May.
Although the approximately two hour meeting focused on a broad palette of subjects, the most sensitive points in the future European Commission proposal remain the social issues affecting road hauliers.
Rest time. This is one of the main concerns of the unions. As previously explained by EUROPE (see EUROPE 11758), in the perspective of greater flexibility, the Commission would like to make a 24-hour reduction possible as part of working two or three weeks in a row, for weekly rest time for heavy duty vehicle drivers.
According to current rules, a lorry driver has to take 45 hours of weekly rest time but this rest time can be reduced to 24 hours on the first weekend and the 21 remaining hours have to be taken at the end of three weeks of work.
The Commission is therefore looking at how this exemption can be extended but does not yet appear to have made a definitive choice regarding the number of reduced rest times during the month (two or three) and how compensatory rest time should be “distributed”.
Cristina Tilling, the political secretary for road transport at the European Transport Workers Federation (ETF), is concerned to by a possible “monthly” rest time by concentrating this at the end of the month.
In a letter dated 2 May, which EUROPE was able to see, 10 MEPs from the S&D, EPP, Greens/EFA and the GUE/NGL demand that the provisions of weekly rest time remain unchanged.
Posted workers. The European Commission’s idea of exempting road transport from the “posted workers" directive for a certain number of days is still an on-going issue (see EUROPE 11684).
A posted worker will be considered as such in another member state depending on the period in which they work in the host country. In an internal undated document seen by EUROPE, the Commission transport services (DG Transport) believe that the room for manoeuvre on this point would be “narrow” and the employment services (DG Employment) are against a daily ceiling that is too high.
It would therefore appear that the discussions between the two directorates general focus on five, seven or nine days worked a month in a member state in order to be paid according to the same conditions applicable to national workers. The Commission has still not taken a decision on this point, although the latter has demonstrated its wish to reach a balanced and proportionate solution.
Employers, as represented by the BusinessEurope organisation, do not appear to be in favour of including international road hauliers in the category of posted workers due to the highly mobile nature of this business and the administrative charges this could induce. The unions, on the other hand, are concerned by the impact on workers in this sector. A Bulgarian lorry driver will therefore be able to work in Luxembourg, for example, four five, seven or nine days a month, subject to Bulgarian wage conditions.
Cabotage. The question of cabotage is also a key challenge in the proposal on the road package and subject to a number of significant differences of opinion between the unions and employers.
The European Commission is looking at the possibility of reducing the number of days (currently seven) where cabotage is allowed in a member state, whilst allowing for an unlimited number of operations over this period. The Commission has so far refused to provide any indications about the number of days but the idea of five days had been suggested in the internal document mentioned above. DG Transport admits that within this document it was unable to go any further because, “this would be considered as another significant liberalisation of cabotage, which we made a commitment not to do”.
Although business representatives such as BusinessEurope believe that the removal of limitations on cabotage operations in the medium-term will help to increase transport efficiency and reduce the number of journeys made without cargoes, the unions are concerned that this will be done on the backs of the workers. A road haulier from a country where wages are low will therefore be likely to carry out cabotage operations during a certain number of days in a country where wages are higher, whilst applying the legislation of their country of origin.
On Wednesday 17 May, the European Parliament will hold a debate with Commissioner Bulc, before voting the following day on a specific resolution for the Commission’s presentation of the road package on 31 May. The unions are expected to be demonstrating in Strasbourg in this regard.
Speaking about this subject during a press dinner, Christine Revault D'Allonnes Bonnefoy (S&D, France) stated that her groupe is for a ban on cabotage, against the project for amending rest time and for smart tachographs. According to her, the unions that will demonstrate have gone beyond the East West division on this issue. (Original version in French by Lucas Tripoteau and Pascal Hansens)