The European Commission published a Joint Communication and a proposal for a Regulation on Military Mobility, the latest step in the EU’s drive to facilitate the rapid movement of troops and military equipment across the continent. The European Transport Workers’ Federation (ETF) warns that any development of military mobility must fully respect transport workers’ rights, guarantee decent working conditions and reject any form of forced labour.
A first read of the Commission’s Communication shows that it fails to mention workers even once. It also ignores the persistent problem of labour shortages and how to address them, as well as the well-known deterioration in working conditions in the sector. Disregarding such fundamental issues is a serious threat to the success of this proposal for military mobility. If we can’t attract workers in times of peace, how can we expect to do so in times of war?
Transport is a critical infrastructure and a vital societal function. When policymakers talk about “military mobility”, they are talking about the roads, railways, ports, airports, bridges, tunnels and vehicles that our union members operate every single day. And they are talking about the workers who drive, sail, fly, load, maintain and control those vehicles and infrastructures.
The ETF has always stood for peace. Our Constitution explicitly states that we “promote peace and oppose all forms of physical, political or social violence”. Peace is a precondition for the full exercise of human rights and stable democracy. There is no peace and security without social justice.
That is why the ETF insists that:
– Requisitioning of civilian transport workers or assets in a crisis must never become forced labour. While ILO Convention 29 allows requisition in emergencies, clear rules on pay, occupational safety and health, working and resting time, and the right to refuse dangerous tasks, and the fundamental rights to conscientious objection and to carry out collective industrial action must be guaranteed in law and in practice. The derogations on driving time, rest periods and cabotage rules announced by the European Commission send an extremely worrying sign.
– The possibility of a security emergency requires high staffing levels and training standards. Transport workers may be called to act in a crisis at a moment’s notice, with hundreds of lives depending on their decisions they make under extreme pressure. Security and preparedness can only be built on the highest standards of safety, training and working conditions – not on cost-cutting and liberalisation.
– Flags of convenience and the widespread reliance on third-country nationals in road and maritime transport create a real risk of labour shortages and coordination failures in a crisis. States can only requisition assets and workers under their own flag or nationality. The reliance on flags of convenience and complex corporate structures is a security risk that must be urgently addressed.
– Increased funding for dual-use infrastructure is welcome after decades of chronic under-investment, but it must not come at the expense of social spending or the Green Deal. Transport workers and their unions must be fully involved in deciding how and where this money is spent.
The ETF welcomes the Commission’s stated intention to work with social partners on preparedness and crisis management. But good intentions are not enough. Transport workers and their trade unions must be at the table from day one, with veto power over any measure that undermines rights or working conditions.
Livia Spera, ETF General Secretary, said: “Transport workers keep Europe moving in peacetime and they will be on the front line in any crisis. We are ready to do our duty, but only if our rights, our safety and our dignity are fully protected. Security that sacrifices workers is no security at all.”
The ETF will continue to defend transport workers’ interests in all discussions on military mobility, preparedness and security at European and national level. We call on all affiliates to report national developments and to mobilise for a security policy that puts people first.
Read the ETF Briefing Paper on Military Mobility and Preparedness (PDF) here.
