The Transport Committee of the European Parliament has approved a package of measures to improve the position of truck drivers. For years, many abuses have occurred in that sector.
After years of abuses, the exploitation of drivers and cheating in the truck sector must finally end, said a spokesperson from the European Parliament liaison office in The Hague. Therefore, measures are being introduced against the many abuses in the road transport industry. Truckers, as well as the transport companies themselves, should ultimately benefit from this.
There must be a level playing field among drivers from the various EU countries, with better rest times, more enforcement, and good working conditions as the basis. This has been the subject of difficult negotiations for years among EP factions, transport ministers, and transport organizations, with earlier compromises failing.
Long driving days, short rest periods, and poor working conditions cause exploitation, especially of freight drivers from Central and Eastern Europe. Many are almost always working and barely see their families. The new rules guarantee better rest times for drivers and make it possible for them to spend more time at home.
Transport companies must ensure that their drivers who drive between countries can go home periodically. They will then be home every three or four weeks, depending on the work schedule. Truckers are already required to rest at the end of each week. This usually happens in their vehicle's cabin, but that will no longer be allowed in the future. If drivers have to rest on the road, the company must pay for their overnight stay in, for example, a hotel or guesthouse.
Additionally, for example, Eastern European truck drivers are seconded to a company from a Western European member state. Some of these companies exploit the lower labor conditions in the EU country where the drivers come from. The European Parliament is therefore introducing European rules for hiring truckers.
The Parliament also wants to ensure that these drivers receive equal pay in the future and are no longer exploited. These measures should make the working conditions of Eastern European drivers the same as those of their Dutch colleagues.
At the same time, the goal is to combat fraud in the road transport sector and promote fair competition. From now on, the number of times trucks cross borders will be counted to prevent cheating with the rules. Transport companies engaging in domestic transport in another country may still only take a maximum of three rides within seven days.
And because smaller vans are increasingly used instead of large trucks for international transport, those transport vans will also fall under the EU rules for road transporters in the future. Vans, delivery vehicles, and other smaller vehicles will also be counted at the border.
The two Dutch members of the Transport Committee are satisfied with the new measures. Vera Tax (PvdA) is glad that fair rules are now being established for all truckers. “With this package, we put an end to unfair competition between Dutch and Eastern European truck drivers. The working conditions will be decent and fair, so drivers can be colleagues again instead of competitors.”
Caroline Nagtegaal (VVD) advocated strongly for counting vehicles crossing the border. “This ensures that Dutch companies that require their truck drivers to take mandatory rest periods are no longer outcompeted by companies from other countries that have their drivers drive for far too long against the rules.”