Hours row continues
Page 10
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
-4 by Karen Miles
• Owner-drivers can look forward to more work, and more bureaucracy. following last week's decision by Europe's transport ministers to exclude some serf-employed drivers from the proposed 4.8-hour working week limas. Transport ministers meeting in Luxembourg decided to compromise on the inclusion of owner-drivers in the European Working Time Directive, which is set to slash the average CV driver's working week by 25%.
This looks like leaving some owner-drivers restricted to 48 hours a week, while others will be allowed to work for more than 80 hours a week under the current driver's hours rules.
The question of which owner-drivers to exclude will depend on the transport ministers and the European Parliament But European Commission sources fear such a compromise could tie up transport operators with further red tape.
A compromise is also likely to prompt manufacturers and hauliers to cut back on their in house fleets, swelling the ranks of Europe's ownerdrivers beyond their estimated total of 1.5 million.
Finland, which currently holds the presidency of the EU, has been charged with sorting out a compromise plan for the next transport ministers' meeting in December. Owner-drivers could be classified by their work, finance and customer base.
For example, owner-drivers working on domestic haulage might be exempt from the 48-hour limit, On the other hand owner-drivers working exclusively for one or two customers—whether haulage subcontractors, freight forwarders or manufacturers—might be treated like employed drivers and therefore subject to the 48-hour limit.
In the UK owner-drivers are already treated in different ways for national insurance and income tax purposes. The decision to seek a compromise follows a campaign to exempt owner-drivers by EU countries including the UK, Spain and Finland. Last week drivers staged demonstrations across Europe against long hours.