The European Parliament has given the green light for the long-awaited reform of international road transport. Strict rules against social dumping will be introduced in this sector. Drivers can no longer be exploited and will receive better salaries and regular working conditions.
“Drivers can finally count on decent working conditions,” says Dutch MEP Vera Tax (PvdA), who negotiated on behalf of the European social democratic faction. “We are putting an end to unfair competition so that drivers can be colleagues again.”
Drivers must be able to spend regular weekend rest at home or in a decent hotel. Living and sleeping consecutively in the cab of a truck is now prohibited,” says Tax. Transport companies must schedule trips so that drivers in international freight transport can regularly return home (every three or four weeks, depending on the work schedule). If rest time does not take place at home, the company must pay for the accommodation.
Tachographs in vehicles will be used to record all border crossings and thus tackle fraud. To prevent systematic cabotage, a cooling-off period of four days must be observed before further cabotage trips can be made in the same country with the same vehicle.
“The time when transport costs were pushed down further at the expense of drivers and SMEs must now be over. This mobility package is a crucial step forward towards a more humane transport sector,” says Vera Tax.
To act against mailbox companies, road carriers must prove that they are primarily active in the country in which they are registered. The new rules also require trucks to return to their company’s operational center every eight weeks. The use of small transport vans from 2.5 tons will henceforth also fall under EU road transport regulations, and these vehicles must therefore also be equipped with a tachograph.
The new European rules also provide for more, better and safer parking spots with gender-friendly sanitation and good lighting at every parking area. The European Commission will make funds available for this. EU countries must implement the new rules within one and a half years, but the driving and rest times come into effect in just three weeks.