Lorry drivers’ hours - back to the drawing board

One of the first signs of the new political mood in the European Parliament after the election is the reversal of its position over rules on working times for lorry drivers. The key question is whether to include self-employed drivers in these new rules. Before the election, MEPs voted to include them; however, voters elected a more right-leaning Parliament in June and now some MEPs wish to exempt independent drivers. We spoke to Members on both sides of the political road.

In May, a majority of MEPs agreed that all drivers, employed or self-employed, should come under the same rules to protect them and other road users from the health and road safety hazards created by excessive working hours. On 29 September, Parliament's Employment Committee was expected to confirm the plenary vote, instead MEPs rejected the report by one vote 25-24.

Exiting rules were laid down in the 2005 EU directive on “the organisation of working time of persons performing mobile road transport activities”. It guarantees minimum standards for the protection of road transport workers and tries to improve health and safety of drivers.

Self-employed drivers can work 65 hours a week

Spanish Socialist Alejandro Cercas drafted the initial report on the issue for the Parliament, approved in October 2008, which demanded the inclusion of self-employed drivers. “It is a question of safety for the self-employed. If the directive is good for the health of drivers employed by a company it should be also good for the health of self-employed drivers,” he said.

“Here we are talking about very long hours. Self-employed drivers can extend their working hours to more than 65 hours a week,” Mr Cercas said. “It is also a question of social responsibility. They endanger not only themselves but also other road users.”

Health fears are exaggerated

However, Slovak MEP Edit Bauer for the centre-right European People's Party, who is now responsible for steering the legislation through the EP said health fears are exaggerated.

Drivers know when they are tired and will stop accordingly, she said. “We cannot consider self-employed drivers as candidates for suicide. This fear is exaggerated.”

She focused on the need to give them some autonomy. “It is also difficult to check and control the working hours of self-employed drivers and if we did it, the cost for it would be quite high.”

Concerns over cost, feasibility and unnecessary regulation have on this occasion prevailed over the fear that the exclusion of self employed drivers from the directive would induce unscrupulous companies to force their drivers to become “self employed” to beat the system.

Since the committee rejected the report, it goes back to the drawing board. The committee will talk to interested parties in December and the aim is to have a report ready for the plenary session in April.