A week of action demanding fair pay and decent working conditions for drivers to tackle fatigue launches today spearheaded by the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) and affiliated road transport unions.
The 2025 ITF Safe Rates Action Week (19-25 June) launches today, backed by dozens of unions and campaigns worldwide. Timed to coincide with the European Transport Workers’ Federation’s Day of Action against Driver Fatigue on 21 June, the week will focus on mobilising workers. It also calls on governments, businesses, and civil society to confront the commercial pressures threatening lives on the roads and adopt ‘Safe Rates’ that guarantee fair pay and decent working conditions to keep drivers and the public safe.
“Pressure from low pay, poor working conditions, and lack of rest is killing drivers,” said Flemming Overgaard, ITF Road Transport Section Chair. “The data shows it, and drivers are living it. In Europe, 60% of truck drivers and 66% of bus and coach drivers report regularly driving while fatigued. Governments and companies can change this situation and save lives by setting fair and safe standards for pay and conditions and working together to enforce them.”
“For too many professional drivers, every day is the longest day. Fatigue is systematically built into their working conditions. This is a safety crisis created by unfair pay, poor enforcement, unreasonable pressure, and supply chains that prioritise the lowest price over a sustainable road transport industry,” said Livia Spera, ETF General Secretary.
A dangerous industry pushed to the brink
New ITF-commissioned research, Commercial Pressures, Working Conditions, and Safety Risks in the Road Transport Industry, reveals the shocking conditions faced by drivers globally:
- In India, commercial vehicles account for 23% of all road deaths despite making up just 4.4% of vehicles on the roads. Truck drivers report working 16-20 hours a day, making monthly salaries as low as USD67, and facing informality, poor vehicle conditions and widespread corruption.
- In Kenya, road fatalities jumped 17% between 2019 to 2023, driven in part by low pay and algorithmic pressure in ride-hailing apps. Forty-nine percent of ride-hailing workers surveyed admitted to falling asleep at the wheel, while 81.5% experienced fatigue.
- In Brazil, self-employed truck drivers report being unable to earn enough money to cover the cost of their vehicles. Explaining the impact one worker said, the driver “is sleepy, tired… he does not eat right, gets stressed, nervous, accidents happen.”
These findings underline the root cause of fatigue and road crashes lies not with individual drivers, but with an industry structure in which a few powerful companies profit by squeezing pay and imposing unsafe schedules, while workers and the public pay with their lives.
The study also shows that the Safe Rates systems that sets fair standards for pay and conditions can lead to real improvements:
- In South Korea, after the Safe Rates system was introduced, the number of drivers regularly falling asleep at the wheel fell by 25.8%. Speeding and overloading also decreased significantly.
- In New South Wales, Australia, the Safe Rates system saved at least 205 lives that would have been lost in articulated truck crashes over recent years. New legal amendments promise to expand these positive outcomes on a national scale.
A week of global action
The ITF Safe Rates Action Week kicks off with a launch event in Berlin on 19 June, followed by an event, The Danger is Rolling Towards Us, co-hosted by the German union ver.di and the ETF at the Euro-Park Rasthof in Herbolzheim on 20 June.
Outreach to drivers will take place throughout the week in corridors and border areas in Europe, Latin America, Africa and the Arab world. Protest, action, tripartite stakeholder forums and other events are planned in several countries including Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Ghana, Kenya, India, Indonesia, Nepal, South Korea and Uganda demanding legal reforms and industry accountability.
The ITF is calling on all road transport workers, unions and supporters around the world to join the campaign, with resources and materials available at a new Safe Rates campaign website.
“The way forward is clear: Safe Rates save lives,” said Stephen Cotton, ITF General Secretary. “When drivers are paid fairly, they don’t have to speed, skip rest, or risk their lives to make ends meet. Governments and industry stakeholders must act now to set and enforce fair standards in road transport together. We call on companies who depend on road transport to work with the ITF to make road transport fair, safe, sustainable and inclusive.”
#SafeRatesSaveLives
Notes
What are Safe Rates?
Guaranteeing Safe Rates mean drivers are paid fairly for all the time they work, allowing them to make enough money to drive safely and support their families. If drivers own their own vehicles, Safe Rates are calculated to ensure that they can cover the cost of purchasing, maintaining, and operating them. Safe Rates can be guaranteed through multi-stakeholder agreements, or legal regulatory systems which:
- Set standards for pay and conditions that are fair and equal for all drivers
- Hold all industry stakeholders accountable, including the companies at the top of road transport supply chains
- Include strong provisions on monitoring and enforcement
- Involve unions in the process of setting, monitoring, and enforcing standards.
