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COMPETING: December 2020 Newsletter

News

The December 2020 edition of the COMPETING newsletter is now available in English, French, Dutch and German. COMPETING is a Competence-Based Education and Training for Inland Navigation project, with the ultimate goal of increasing labour mobility in the inland shipping sector.

The ETF is actively participating in this project, which aims to improve the recognition of professional qualifications in the inland waterways sector. This edition of the newsletter includes an interview with Caroline Nagtegaal, a new member of COMPETING Advisory Board, inland waterways news from around Europe, and updates on the project.

You can find more information about the project here: www.iwt-competencies.eu

Inland Waterways

ON THE GROUND

News

Keeping a warming Europe moving: how hot temperatures affect transport workers and what can be done about it

As part of the European continent undergoes its fourth heatwave of 2026, it has become abundantly clear that occupational heat exposure is no longer an exceptional or occasional summer hazard. It is an emergent occupational hazard only destined to escalate. Europe is the second fastest-warming region of the globe after the Arctic. According to EU-OSHA 2025 numbers, one in five workers in the EU signaled exposure to extreme heat at work in the previous 12 months, a figure rising to one in three in some countries.
climate change
hot temperatures
working conditions
News

Unruly passengers: more than just summer headlines

Summer may be synonymous with relaxation for holidaymakers and every summer seems to produce its share of eye-catching headlines. Just days ago, The Guardian reported on a drunk British holidaymaker who tried to kiss a flight attendant on a plane and was arrested on his way back through Palma airport. A week earlier, headlines were dominated by reports of a flight from Dublin to Ibiza descending into what was described as "sex and booze chaos," leaving fellow passengers shocked.
unruly passenger
unruly passengers
Civil Aviation
News

UK public transport unions sound the alarm over lack of toilet access for drivers

Public transport unions in the United Kingdom are raising urgent concerns about the lack of access to toilet facilities for bus and train drivers, a problem that has persisted for years but is now reaching a breaking point. Reports from across the UK show drivers being forced to work entire shifts without guaranteed access to a toilet, leaving them to rely on improvised or unsafe alternatives, including urinating in bottles in their driving cab. Some unions are now considering industrial action to force employers and authorities to act.
Railways
Urban Public Transport