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European Transport Workers’ Federation urges British Labour MEPs to change vote on drivers’ regulations
5 May 2005
The European Transport Workers’ Federation (ETF), the ITF’s European arm, has called on 11 British MEPs to change their vote in favour of an amendment to European driving and rest time regulations, in a bid to see logistics companies covered by the legislation.
The vote in the European Parliament on 13 April overturned a vote of the Council of Transport and Tourism, which accepted a compromise amendment supported by the ETF. This would have meant vehicles weighing less than 3.5 tonnes would have been subject to the regulations, effectively bringing courier and express delivery companies such as UPS, DHL and Fedex, within the legislation’s scope. However, the amendment was subsequently thrown out by the European Parliament, largely as a result of the abstention of 11 British Labour MEPs.
In an email addressed to MEPs, Beatrice Hertogs, the ETF’s Road and Inland Waterways Political Secretary urged British MEPs who abstained to change their vote in order to obtain a qualified majority.
She argued: “Excluding the delivery companies from the scope of the regulation, creates unfair competition between transport companies.”
Delivery companies had to fall within the scope of the regulations if safety was to be promoted, she added. “To be able to take adequate rest time, as foreseen in the regulations, can also reduce accidents. Road safety, which is a citizen’s issue, goes hand in hand with the health and safety of drivers, which is a trade union issue,” she explained.
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