The International Road Transport Union (IRU) has strongly condemned the rejection by the Plenary of the European Parliament of the European Commission’s proposal to exclude self employed drivers from the scope of the Sectoral Road Transport Working Time Directive.
The IRUS says the decision will threaten EU jobs and entrepreneurial spirit contradicting the objectives of the Lisbon agenda.
The President of the IRU’s EU Goods Transport Liaison Committee, Alexander Sakkers, said: “This vote by the EU Parliament is a triumph of dogmatism over pragmatism and completely disregards what the road sector actually needs. Rejecting the Commission proposal will not only result in lost jobs and competitiveness in road transport, but will create a precedent to extend such rules to the self employed in other sectors too. The competitiveness of the whole European economy is therefore at risk. Despite the rejection by Parliament today we urge the Commission to come forward with a new proposal that will still seek to exempt true self employed entrepreneurs from these rules.’’
“This negative vote is also due to false claims and misinformation about the working hours of those not covered by the Directive, as well as faulty arguments that working time rules are vital for road safety, which is simply not the case, as an extremely extensive road safety regulatory framework already exists for commercial vehicle drivers whether self employed or not.”
