MG pushes for a 48-hour week
Page 10
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
II by Karen Miles
The truck driver's week should be limited to 48 hours because there is an "overwhelming case" for it on health and safety grounds, the Transport and General Workers Union has told the Government. The Working Time Directive will curb driver tiredness and reduce fatigue-related road accidents, the union says in a paper submitted last week as part of the Department of Transport's consultation on extending the directive to cover employed and self-employed commercial vehicle drivers.
The union estimates that a quarter of all motorway truck accidents result from driver fatigue. Bringing the working week down to 48 hours would bring large savings in costs to haulage bosses, it says, resulting in longer-term efficiencies.
Heart disease among drivers could also be halved—the TGWU says research shows that people who work more than 48 hours a week have double the risk of this disease.
This submission is in contrast to those of the Freight Transport and Road Haulage Associations. They argue that, properly enforced, the current drivers hours rules are enough to safeguard drivers' health and safety.
Both associations strongly dispute the European Commission's claim that the 48-hour week would add an average of 0.2% to operators' wage bills. The RHA warns that the directive will add up to 50% to hauliers' running costs.
The associations want drivers to be free to opt out of the forthcoming legislation, but that looks unlikely.
The TGWU expects the Working Time Directive to apply to drivers by 2004—most other workers are already subject to its limits.