Respect Drivers!

Fighting for drivers’ right to decent working and living conditions

Loopholes in EU law fuel the exploitation of professional drivers – be this in the form of long working hours and short periods of rest, or employment schemes based on illegal pay and no social protection. What is more, the conditions that drivers live in while away from home are uncomfortable, unhygienic and sometimes even dangerous.

The ETF pulled the alarm signal: policymakers must urgently close these loopholes and step up controls and enforcement in bus, coach and road freight. In 2012, we launched a campaign calling on EU lawmakers to restore respect for professional drivers. It is time to act against degrading jobs and working conditions.

In time our efforts had real impact on EU policy. When he started his term in 2015, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker put social issues at the core of the European Commission priorities. The European Parliament also engaged in assiduous work on social dumping in road transport, and member states started to take concrete action by implementing more controls of existing rules.

Nevertheless, the fight goes on. The proposal for an EU MOBILITY PACKAGE could undermine the already weak rules governing the sector. It is vital that we continue our struggle to ensure that the EU delivers on its social promises, so that professional drivers get the respect they deserve.

[Note: The Respect Drivers Campaign continues, but now largely overlaps with our work on the EU MOBILITY PACKAGE. This is part of the ETF’s broader FAIR TRANSPORT EUROPE Campaign against social dumping in the transport sector.]

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Second wildcat strike in Grafenhausen shines new light on continued human rights abuses in European road transport

Over 130 truck drivers, who come from countries including Georgia, Uzbekistan, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, the Philippines, and Tajikistan, are gathered at the rest area in Grafenhausen, Germany to demand pay owed them by the Polish trucking consortium Mazur Group or Agmaz-Lukmas-Imperia.
It is the second wildcat strike by truck drivers in Germany and has brought renewed attention to the urgent need for intervention by government and industry stakeholders to protect the rights of third-country nationals.

Press Release
27 Jul 2023

Uber files highlights the importance of protecting workers from unethical platform companies

ETF is very concerned about Uber’s illegal and unethical practices, as revealed by the Guardian via the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). It is outrageous to have undeniable proof of a company’s executives acknowledging their law-breaking explicitly in internal communications. Uber’s behaviour has a direct negative effect on the health and safety, and working conditions of drivers.

Statement
11 Jul 2022