Laser Transport goes down the East European route
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II by Karen Mies
British hauliers are quite legally—using cheap, Eastern European drivers within the European Union, and hundreds more are set to follow suit.
Laser Transport International has transferred a contract previously serviced by Iwo vehicles and drivers from its Hythe. Kent depot to Lithuanian-based trucks doubled-manned by Lithuanians.
Laser says the savings in wages have cut the cost of the daily journeys between the UK and Germany by up to 40%. The company has installed caravans at Hythe and Stuttgart for the drivers to use for rest.
Laser says it took the decision to switch to Lithuanian trucks and drivers with regret and after enormous pressure. A growing number of Eastern European drivers are working within the EU. German giant With Betz has added to the pressure by employing Eastern European drivers on intra-EU traffic by exploiting unharmonised work permit regulations.
The two Lithuanian trucks are working for a joint operation run by Laser and German freight forwarder BIG. They operate on ECMT (European Conference of Ministers of Transport) permits and can legally 'tramp" within the EU for a month. At the end of the month the vehicles and drivers return to Lithuania. to be replaced by another set covered by another ECMT permit.
Laser has investi gated this practice arid has been assured that it is "totally legal".
The Department of Transport confirms that some work of this kind is legal with an ECMT permit.
Laser's general manager for European transport services, Nick Charlesworth, says the company has been forced to take this route to survive; he cannot rule out similar moves in the future: "Rates were being slashed by operators using similar services and we have had to react to that...it's the latest competition threat in the market place. If you consider the 20% exchange rate disadvantage for UK operators and higher fuel and vehicle excise taxes I suspect the flood of Eastern European operators will continue," The DOT has warned that the panned enlargement of the EU will probably lead to a rise in the number of ECMT and bilateral permits for hauliers from applicant countries before they gain total freedom as full EU operators.
EU transport ministry officials are about to meet in Brussels to discuss the threat posed to EU hauliers by Eastern European operators and drivers. m Another Kent hauler is believed to be using some of fts own Lithuanian-registered vehicles, but as Commercial Motor went to press it was unclear if these trucks are being used on Journeys between Eastern Europe and the EU or on domestic EU traffic.