ETF black logo ETF black logo ETF black logo ETF black logo

Google Translate

German government paves the way for social dumping in the river cruise sector

Press release

On Monday 30th January 2017 the ETF learnt about the decision of the German Foreign Ministry to restart issuing Schengen visas to non-EU citizens for employment on Swiss river cruise vessels.

ETF is very much alarmed by this development. Nick Bramley, ETF IWT Section Chair, comments: “The German Foreign Ministry is opening doors to social dumping practices.”

The issuing of visas for employment on Swiss vessels, with over 100 vessels the largest river cruise fleet in Europe, enables employers to circumvent Swiss national legislation. While the crew is in reality not being employed in Switzerland and with the vessels regularly crossing international borders the principle of lex loci laboris, the application of the law of the country in which a worker is employed, is difficult if not impossible to enforce.

The decision of the German government to resume issuing visas to non-EU citizens on Swiss river cruise vessels opens the labour market to cheap labour from outside the EU.

ETF will address the German Foreign Ministry and urge them to reconsider their position on restart issuing Schengen visas to non-EU citizens for employment on Swiss river cruise vessels.

social dumping
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