Non-Ell drivers 'illegal'
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by Rob Willock • Non-EU drivers working for British companies are "very unlikely" to be doing so legally, according to the Department of Employment.
British drivers are becoming increasingly concerned that EU hauliers are using cheap eastern European drivers for international work.
Turkish, Romanian, Bulgarian, Hungarian and Polish owner-drivers can legitimately seek loads to and from the UK. But they cannot be employed directly by a British firm.
"They would need a work permit," says a DoE spokeswoman. "But criteria of the work permit scheme state that successful applicants should be of degree-level education and have had at least two years' post-graduate experience. The post they are filling also needs to have been advertised nationally to give EU residents a chance to apply. With the best will in the world, lorry driving jobs are not generally graduate positions, so I cannot think of a situation where we would grant a work permit for a non-EU lorry driver."
One driver who regularly contacts CM about the issue of EU-based companies employing non EU drivers says the practice is rife. "How can the EU turn a blind eye to this with all the unemployment across Europe?" he asks.
E. A driver who crashed his overloaded van killing two of its occupants after drinking four bottles of lager has been jailed for five years. Stafford Crown court heard that Abdul Ghaffor had five convictions for driving without insurance and was driving on a provisional licence.