News online
Change low graphic options |
Skip content to navigation
Page context: ETF Home > News online
European guidelines for Road transport should reinforce social needs, unions demand
18 April 2007
Challenges lie ahead for quality jobs and balanced legislation in the Road transport sector, as addressed by union representatives from 16 EU and non-EU countries during the TRUST Road Transport Workshop held in Budapest last 17-18 April. European guidelines should therefore serve to overcome social weaknesses and be rooted in an understanding of the existing constraints, they stressed.
The magnitude of restructuring across the sector was deeply analyzed together with policy makers, experts and employers. Some of the issues highlighted include:
- Industry concentration/ consolidation: big companies merging with other big companies
- Small companies struggling for survival and enjoying only big companies’ spare
- Strong concentration-profit relationship
- Trend towards logistic providers, leading to problems related to sub-contracting
- Increased mobility of workers with impact on the ‘career path’: creation of new low-skilled workforce, low paid jobs, shortage of experienced workers
Against this background, unions shared concerns over the need for strategies to expand and improve employment opportunities. They also convened that creating more and better jobs to counteract market-generated unbalances requires action on many fronts, amongst which:
- Information/statistics regarding working conditions, pay and working time
- Collective rights: revision of existing legislation; better enforcement; new legislation
- Health and safety at work
- Individual rights regarding salary warranty; working and rest time; temporary work; European definition of cabotage; securities
- Articulation between restructuring, Lisbon Strategy and environment
Environmental issues were particularly considered throughout the debate.
Coming next: Railways Workshop: 14-15 May (Warsaw); Maritime Transport Workshop: 20-21 June (Brussels); Inland Navigation Workshop: 26-27 June (Budapest).
Back to current news online stories
Section home:
News online
RSS feeds
Download our free RSS news feeds:
English
What is RSS?
Main Sections:
ETF Home | Civil aviation | Dockers | Fisheries | Inland Waterways | Logistics | Maritime Transport | Railways | Road transport | Tourism | Urban Public Transport | Projects
Gender Equality | EWCs
About us/contact | Vacancies | News online
Press area | Document library | Links |
Full graphics version
accessibility | site help | site map
Galerie AGORA, Rue du Marché aux Herbes 105, Boîte 11 B - 1000 Bruxelles | +32 2 285 46 60 | etf@etf-europe.org