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.

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.

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?

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.

An ETUI policy brief looking at answers to this question from a Belgian perspective