French drivers want Euro licence
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• A French truck drivers' union is demanding the introduction of a single European LGV driving licence in a bid to standardise working regulations throughout the EC.
The move, announced by the recently formed Syndicat de la Co-ordination de Chauffeurs et Professionels de la Route, is seen as an attempt to avoid renewed strike action in France by ensuring that all EC drivers are competing fairly. French unions have previously complained that drivers from other EC countries have an advantage in driver's hours and speed regulations.
The SCPR, representing 300 members, is contacting haulage unions across the EC to win support for the plan. David Higginbottom, general secretary of the United Road Transport Union, says: "I am interested to speak to them to find out what they are planning. If the idea is just an aftermath of the last drivers' dispute, then trying to tackle their problems by standardising driving licences is not going to work — they should be dealing with the root causes."
The proposal comes as British hauliers operating on the Continent are bracing themselves for a new wave of strikes.
The Spanish drivers' union ASTIC warns that strikes are due to take place in Barcelona and Iron on the French border — and possibly elsewhere — on 1 September. The union has contacted the Road Haulage Association, warning of blockades organised by "certain autonomous unions" which feel that the Spanish government has not fulfilled agreements reached following the 1990 drivers' strike which left many British trucks stranded or damaged.
French drivers are set to decide on further strike action next week, with many calling for another blockade. The International Road Transport Union in Geneva has sent warning bulletins to member organisations across Europe.
The IRU says: "There will be a meeting at Avallon, near Lyon, of those who took part in July's strikes. As far as we know the meeting will examine what has been done by the government since July and decide on whether to begin new action."
The French government has made no concessions on the issue of the points system on driving licences following the dispute, and the likelihood of a new strike has been increased by the announcement last week that hundreds of drivers may lose their jobs following new legislation banning the import of household waste from abroad.
The news of the strike vote has infuriated many British hauliers. Rod Charge, general manager of Romac International in Kent, says: "It's just typical, isn't it? We're held by the short and curlies — as a country we are weak in holding our corner with the bastards.'
Paul Mainds, managing director of Buckinghamshire-based Cave Wood Transport, says: "We are not happy about this — and I don't think their transport industry will be happy about it either."