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FTA calls for staggered WTD launch
Page 7
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THE FREIGHT Transport Association is to lobby the government to ask the European Commission to approve a staggered introduction of the Working Time Directive in a last-ditch attempt to stave off its full impact.
FTA chief executive Richard Turner says Transport Minister David Jamieson has repeatedly refused to ignore the 23 March 2005 deadline, despite the fact many other states will not be ready for the launch. "We will now ask the government to make a formal request to the EC asking it to rationalise the launch of the WTD in the same way as it did with smartcard tachographs. which led to the EC delaying their launch by a year," he says.
"We understand that it cannot break ranks with the EC but we want to enforce how important this is for UK operators and their competitiveness especially when other European states are not likely to be ready on time. We want the EC to either bring everyone else into line or agree to a staggered approach, which would mean a more gradual impact on both the transport industry and the UK economy, allowing firms to make their customers more aware of increased costs."
A CM investigation found that while the UK government is pushing ahead with plans for the WTI). other EU states are taking a laid backed approach and are unlikely to meet the deadline. See page 28.