In the near future, we are expecting to vote on the European Mobility Package, which has been received differently in various member states, including Lithuania. Sadly, during the multi-year negotiations on the Mobility Package, Lithuania did not express its support for drivers, whose interests will be protected by this package. Why is that?
Is it an expression of anger because of the efforts to ensure drivers have decent working conditions? Or because of the wish to curtail the greed of businesses, which thrives at the expense of the employees? And in the midst of all of this, as the demands of the unions drown among the powerful business interests, has anyone heard what the drivers want from this package?
Every day the drivers ensure the smooth travel of goods in the entirety of the EU, leaving their homes, families, friends, daily duties and life in Lithuania behind. Yes, these are the people from all over the country: our friends, acquaintances and neighbours. But they are even more than that. They are also economic migrants, who usually get less than the minimum wage. This affects not only our people, but also our economy, and shows a long-standing legislative gap that business giants exploit.
Truck drivers spend more than two-thirds of their life in their vehicles. How does that look? Try to imagine the following: the drivers usually spend tens of days, if not weeks or months, in the space of four square meters. There they cook, eat, sleep, and, of course, work.
Following the liberalisation of the freedom of movement, businesses, to reduce wage-related expenses, began to hire employees from EU’s eastern member states. But the greed-driven wish to gain at the expense of people did not stop there.
At the moment, many of the drivers are not only citizens from EU countries, but also from Ukraine, Moldova, Belarus, Kazakhstan and the Philippines. Of course, while working in EU countries and receiving a minimal national wage, they earn more than they would in their home countries, but who gains from this the most? Certainly not the workers.
First, it is the freight companies that higher the drivers. By paying especially low wages, they benefit though lower social security contributions. However, this chain is even longer. Large industrial enterprises that use freight services, especially vehicle manufacturers, also benefit from this. Yes, it is the same manufacturers whose cars we use every day and who are part of this exploitation chain. How does this happen?
Industry businesses that use freight services hire western logistics companies to transport their goods. In turn, logistics companies subcontract this work to local Eastern European businesses, or open a subsidiary in a country like Poland, Slovenia or Romania. In this case, they use the existing, intolerable local situation to hire drivers for a minimal national wage. Daily expenses and some bonuses are added to the wage, which leads to a post-tax salary reaching around 2000 euros per month.
Of course, this is in part beneficial to the eastern drivers, because their wages are much bigger than the national wage of their home countries. This is also beneficial to the companies because they pay taxes only on the minimum wage, and bonuses are covered by only modest taxation. But is it ethical that such employees, who seek to secure a decent level of income after taxes, are saving daily allowances to achieve this? Is any of this fair?
Drivers working under such condition have inferior health insurance or don’t have it altogether, lack paid holidays, not to mention experiencing poor working conditions, fatigue and human exploitation. However, it is not just about Western Europe importing cheap labour from the eastern parts.
In recent years, Poland has become the non-EU migrant centre of Europe. The number of drivers in receipt of attestations and special permits from non-EU countries, intending to work in Polish freight companies, has risen by more than ten times.
Is it acceptable that employees, while trying to survive and get a decent wage after taxes, are saving daily allowance?
Ten years ago, Poland’s General Inspectorate of Road Transport (GITD) was granting more than 5600 certificates per year to drivers who were meeting certain criteria, including having finished courses for driving large transport vehicles. In 2018 the GITD was planning to grant more than 70,000 of the same certificates.
The number of foreign drivers coming to Poland is growing at lightning speed. More than 90 per cent of drivers are from Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine. Is this not a gap in the system? Do you think a Brit or a German would do this job for an unfathomably low wage? No. That is precisely why the major European countries are experiencing a massive shortage of drivers, which is compensated by economic migrants from Eastern countries. At the moment the EU transport market is completely dependent on this cheap labour force.
Often this non-EU driver influx is called the “Ukrainian phenomenon” and is associated with the civil war in Ukraine, and the need of people to move abroad for work and take on “anything that pays”. However, our European Democracy cannot be like that. Each EU employee deserves not only a decent wage that allows for life, not just survival, but also decent working conditions and an opportunity to live in dignity.
Finally, let us look not only to at the interests of the politicians and businesses, but also of the workers. Lithuania’s driver union and Europe’s transport workers’ federation, representing more than five million transport workers from more than 230 transport unions in 41 European states, says the following: “What do we want the most from these negotiations? Assurances that drivers will be able to return to their native country, a complete ban on resting in vehicles. <…> If these measures are part of the final agreement, truck drivers, who are currently spending months living and working in their vehicles, will have a family and social life, and at least every 12 days will be able to spend a weekend not in their vehicles that they are currently tied to.
This challenge is especially relevant during the current sensitive period. While facing the COVID-19 pandemic and its consequences, which we see today, this Mobility Package must be reviewed once more.
We must clearly separate two things. Under current circumstances, we can understand that the safest places for a drive to sleep are in the cabin of the vehicle. However, this must be an exception, not the norm, when talking about the rules of the Mobility Package.
When the pandemic is over, we will have to analyse the economic consequences caused by COVID-19 carefully. When talking about the Mobility Package, we must also discuss hygiene, health conditions and exceptions during crises. During extreme events, both drivers and businesses must be protected. If the Mobility Package can contribute to these efforts, we must make sure it does.
Lithuania, together with seven other countries, has called on the Council of the European Union to stop the adoption of the Mobility Package until COVID-19 pandemic is over. I agree that rushing, in light of huge economic consequences and possible impact on the conditions Mobility Package by the virus, is not the best option. But this is also an opportunity for the transport sector to make good on the promises it made during the negotiations – take responsibility and respect the rights of workers.
If logistics companies adhere to the principles of good cooperation, participation in the market and of respecting works rights, it would be an excellent pretext to review the requirement of the Mobility Package. Businesses must show initiative, or it will be very difficult to defend the positions of both the business and workers.
Under current circumstances, we can understand that the safest places for a drive to sleep in the cabin of the vehicles. However, this must be an exception, not the norm.
Of course, the new Mobility Package must match Europe’s new green direction. I agree that the occasional return of truck drivers to their native countries will not contribute to stopping the climate change, but we will keep looking for solutions.
Perhaps it is time to start talking about electric trucks? Or maybe ensure the return home is made using other modes of transport? In any case, all this cannot be a pretext for harming the rights of truck drivers.
I am convinced that we don’t need to drive the trucks back and forth because we can achieve the necessary results using other means. However, it is paramount we ensure decent conditions for working, resting, pay and returning to home countries and their families.
Back in January, the European Parliament improved the rules for posting of drivers, rest time and cabotage. The rules seek not only to address the distortion of competition in the EU transport sector but also ensure better working and resting conditions for drivers.
The agreement retains existing cabotage limitations (no more than three hauls in seven days). However, to fight fraud, there will be a requirement to registered border crossings using tachographs. Before starting cabotage operations in the same country with the same vehicle, there will be a requirement for a four-day gap. Base on the new rules, freight trucks will have to return to the country where the company has its headquarters every eight weeks.
The rules also seek to ensure better rest conditions for drivers and allow them to spend more time at home. Companies will have to create rotas in a way that would allow the drivers to return home regularly. The prescribed rest time during the week can no longer be spent in the cabin of the truck, and if the rest period is not spent at home, the companies will have to cover lodging for the night.
Juozas Olekas is a member of the European Parliament, a Social democrat.
