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Trade unions met in Vienna to discuss union strategies in the road transport sector

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Trade union representatives from Austria, the Czech Republic, Poland, Germany, and Belgium met for a workshop on 23-24 January 2019 in Vienna. The workshop was organised as part of the EU-funded project “Social conditions in logistics in Europe”, managed by ver.di, EVA Academy and the ETF. The aim of the project is to collect and compare provisions in collective bargaining agreements applicable to the road transport sector in the EU. The participants presented their national systems of collective bargaining and discussed how to develop cross-border strategies and build union capacity in order to improve the social conditions for professional drivers in Europe.

Credit: Sebastian Philipp

On the second day of the workshop the Austrian member of the European Parliament Evelyne Regner (S&D) addressed the participants. “Bad working conditions pose a major safety risk for everyone on the road. The sector is growing inexorably. Drivers are under enormous pressure to work even faster and even more. Instead of further loopholes for companies, working hours, breaks and rest times must be strictly and cross-border controlled. Fatigued drivers, driving heavy vehicles, are a danger to all road users.”

During the workshop, Evelyn Regner’s sponsorship of the ETF Fair Transport Europe campaign was announced.

“Social conditions in logistics in Europe” is supported by wmp consult.

ON THE GROUND

Statement

The EC Fair Labour Mobility Package, a step in the right direction

The ETF welcomes the Fair Labour Mobility Package presented yesterday by the European Commission. Mobile and non-EU workers are essential to the fabric of the internal market and the possibility to work in another EU country is an invaluable freedom. However, labour mobility only works in a spirit of fairness and upwards social convergence.