Strasbourg, 14/06/2001 (Agence Europe) - The European Parliament and the Council are expected to open a conciliation procedure on the working hours of road hauliers, after the adoption of the report by British Labour member Stephen Hughes, which reintroduces independent hauliers into the draft directive. With the adoption of the report, during its plenary session on Thursday in Strasbourg, the EP amended the Council's common position on at least four points that were the subject of greatest divergence during Council meetings and at discussions between social partners: 1) inclusion of independents; 2) weekly working hours (creating a link between the directive on working hours and Regulation 3820/85 on driving time); 3) night work (reducing daily working hours to eight instead of ten when these include night work); 4) the definition of working hours, carefully specifying the definition of driver availability.
After two years and a last night of bargaining on 22 December last, the Council had adopted by qualified majority a common position that provides for independents (around 3.5 million drivers) to be excluded from the scope of the directive and for the Commission to make new proposals after five years including them on the basis of an assessment of the situation. This compromise had made it possible to rally the countries opposed to including independents to the project (Netherlands, Finland, Greece) and those who hope to be included (Italy Ireland, Belgium, Denmark, Austria, Luxembourg and Portugal). The amendments of the EP radically reject this solution by making the inclusion of independents in the directive automatic, three years after its coming into force, and specifying in a strict way the definition of "independent workers" in order to avoid bogus independents.
Stressing that "when one sees a lorry in the rear view mirror, one wonders whether the driver is an independent worker or an employee", in the knowledge that "fatigue is the same" for both worker categories, Mr Hughes insisted during the debate on the need to include independent workers but also on a strict framework for working hours and the taking into account of periods of availability. Acknowledging that it would be difficult to gain a majority on its amendment proposing the introduction of the obligation to inform the worker 24 hours in advance of the periods of availability during which he may be asked to drive, the rapporteur took a compromise stance in favour of the amendment by British Liberal Democrat Elizabeth Lynne, who recommends 12 hours notice. The plenary, however, rejected both amendments.
Belgian Christian Democrat Miet Smet said that, for the EPP-ED group, the debate focused on a specific point: the inclusion of independent workers. A majority of her group is in favour because independent workers have the same rights as employees but also because their inclusion is necessary for fair competition and because over-long working hours are likely to increase road safety problems. The group, on the other hand, is opposed to inflexible regulations on worker availability. Independents are citizens like the others and run the same risks, said Spanish Socialist Alejandro Cercas, who urged for all hauliers to be treated in an identical manner. Dutch Liberal Maria Sanders-ten Holte gave her group's support to the Council's common position, which provisionally excludes independent hauliers from the directive. Elizabeth Lynne, on the other hand, showed solidarity with the position of her group, stressing that the exclusion of independents could create unfair competition and present safety risks. Dutch Green member Theo Bouwman and Herman Schmid (GUE/NGL, Sweden) spoke of "social competition" that occurs in road transport and urged for strict regulation of working hours for all workers in the haulage sector. British Conservative Philip Bushill-Matthews was opposed to all strengthening of the social regulations explaining that workers in the sector are frightened of job losses that could be entailed by the amendments proposed by the rapporteur.
Commissioner Loyola de Palacio recalled that she had proposed automatic inclusion of independent workers after three years. Even if the text of the common position is not perfect, it is a step forward, she said, promising however to do everything in her power during conciliation in order to obtain better results. While indicating that she shares the content, she said with regret that she could not accept certain amendments, including those concerning the automatic inclusion of independents. She nonetheless accepted amendments limiting daily working hours to eight (instead of ten in the common position) and introducing compulsory worker information on periods of availability 24 hours in advance.