1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148 
Owner-drivers to stay exempt from WTD
Page 7
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
THE EUROPEAN Commission has clashed with MEPs over its opposition to including ownerdrivers within the Working Time Directive. They remain excluded, despite insistence from MEPs that they should be brought into scope for road-safety reasons.
Last week, MEPs from the Employment and Social Affairs Committee discussed the future of self-employed drivers. Many MEPs feel let down by the EC because derogation (partial revocation of a law) for owner-drivers was only intended as a temporary measure.
An EC commissioner said that including the self-employed is unenforceable, and there are no convincing safety reasons, adding: "Since 2002, we have very strict rules on driving times and rest periods, and trucks have digital tachographs. which are foolproof."
The EC believes genuine ownerdrivers should he excluded from the WTD. However, it supports including the 'false self-employed, such as drivers working for a single employer on a one-off basis.
MEP Edit Bauer, the rapporteur (sponsor) for the proposal to bring the self-employed into the scope of the WTD, reminded MEPs that the EC had rejected her proposal on 5 May. -Now it's back with us," she said, and suggested there should be a fresh vote at the committee's next meeting on 29 September.
The EC is in talks with transport unions through the European Transport Federation to see if a compromise proposal can emerge.
The Freight Transport Association (FTA) puts forward the view that genuine owner-drivers should he excluded. But FTA European affairs manager Chris Yarsley says: "If a group of UK ownerdrivers are included, then all UK owner-drivers should be included."
In the UK, genuine ownerdrivers were excluded from the WTD until March this year.