Road Transport

In a joint letter addressed to the government representatives in the UNECE Working Party on Passive Safety (GRSP), ETF, ITF and IRU highlight that bus drivers remain at serious risk in frontal crashes. The letter urges the government representatives to work on this issue, including the creation of a dedicated working group as proposed by the Norwegian government.

Over 130 truck drivers, who come from countries including Georgia, Uzbekistan, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, the Philippines, and Tajikistan, are gathered at the rest area in Grafenhausen, Germany to demand pay owed them by the Polish trucking consortium Mazur Group or Agmaz-Lukmas-Imperia. It is the second wildcat strike by truck drivers in Germany and has brought renewed attention to the urgent need for intervention by government and industry stakeholders to protect the rights of third-country nationals.

With upcoming environmental legislation and new powertrain technologies, European road transport is at a crossroads. As jobs and working conditions continue to be impacted by new green transition-related regulations, road transport workers call for a Just Transition. As part of a joint EU-funded project, ETF and IndustriAll Europe organised a workshop dedicated to road transport sector.

On 21 June, the ETF launched the very first Day Against Driver Fatigue in Europe. The ETF and its affiliates took action across Europe to draw attention to the critical problem of driver fatigue in road transport. 21 June was the longest day of the year – but for professional drivers, every day is the longest!

Following the release of the shocking documentary "Lorry Slaves: Immigrant Exploitation in Lithuania", the ETF addresses an open letter to Europe’s policy makers on the reality in road transport: we demand justice now!

ETF contributes to European Commission Consultation on the ex-post evaluation of the Driving Licence Directive, and highlights the need to take into account the reality of drivers when considering certain changes and puts forward recommendations that will improve the sector's level-playing field.

ETF addressed a letter to European Commissioner for Transport, Adina Vălean, calling for no further derogations from the driving and rest hours regulation and the reintroduction of the ban on weekly rest in the vehicle.

The ETF online survey on driver fatigue in European road transport as part of their EU-funded project “Trade unions and drivers for safer roads in Europe” is now closed.