Safety first! “Guards must be kept on board trains!”, declare ETF’s expert groups
The Locomotive Drivers’ Advisory Group and the On-Board Personnel Advisory Group, meeting in Brussels on 21-22 October, expressed their solidarity with French railway workers following an accident that occurred on October 16 between Mohon and Poix-Terron in Eastern France which involved a driver-only operation (DOO) train. DOOs are dangerous for both the train driver and the passengers: guards must be kept on board trains!
ETF welcomes Denmark’s decision to introduce stricter cabotage rules for buses & coaches
Starting 1 November 2019, Denmark will tighten its rules for foreign buses and coaches. Foreign buses will be allowed to legally cabotage for seven consecutive days in Denmark per calendar month.
Rail social partners start negotiations on agreement to promote women’s employment
Women account for less than 20% of the railway workforce, a figure that is alarmingly below the 46% participation rate of women in the labour market. Railway companies and trade unions are convinced that the situation needs to change in order to avoid missing out on the valuable contribution of women, to promote diversity at the workplace, and eventually harmonise the railway sector’s image with the reality of the society in which rail customers live.
The European Labour Authority will be launched tomorrow and the ETF is fully on board
Tomorrow, October 16, 2019, the European Labour Authority will start its activities by holding its first Management Board meeting in Brussels, in the presence of Jean-Claude Juncker, European Commission President; Valdis Dombrovskis, Executive Vice President-Designate of the European Commission, and Marianne Thyssen, Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs, Skills and Labour Mobility. The European Transport Workers’ Federation will represent the European trade union federations on the ELA Management Board.
Vehicle activity in the ‘home’ country – the real problem
One of the gemstones of the European Parliament agreement on the Mobility Package is this: all heavy goods vehicles shall perform at least one loading or one unloading of goods every four weeks in the Member States of establishment. This is so effective in combating letter-box companies, it has recently become subject to attacks as the Mobility Package enters now the critical stage of Institutional negotiations. So, what’s the real problem?
Launch of the ETF survey on what the transport sector needs to be more attractive for women
Now it’s time to ensure that governments in Europe ratify and implement the Convention. The ETF Women’s Committee urges all ETF trade unions to promote fair and violence-free workplaces for women transport workers.
Why aren’t there more European Works Councils?
An ETUI policy brief looking at answers to this question from a Belgian perspective
Ryanair crew get justice in the Netherlands
A Dutch court has ruled that Ryanair must compensate workers made redundant by the closure of its base at Eindhoven Airport last year.
XPO served notice under duty of vigilance law in landmark legal move
French law is being used to force a road transport and logistics multinational to take the necessary steps to stamp out human rights abuses in its supply chain, in the first case of its kind.
ETF talks future of European transport sector with Members of the European Parliament
The ETF together with AK and ÖGB organised a workshop “European Transport Workers moving Europe forward” on 30 September 2019 in the European Parliament. The event was kindly hosted by MEP Ismail Ertug.
Cybersecurity in Inland Navigation
Cybersecurity is a challenge faced by all sectors. A lot can be learnt from measures taken in other transport modes to shield the sector from possible cyber attacks.