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INTERNATIONAL FOREIGN DRIVERS

6th November 1997
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Page 56, 6th November 1997 — INTERNATIONAL FOREIGN DRIVERS
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

A row has erupted after CM revealed that a number of British international operators are cutting costs by using Turkish drivers for a quarter of the wages paid to their British counterparts. Pat Hagan investigates.

To long-distance truck drivers, daily fluctuations in international currency markets must seem about as relevant to their careers as what the Secretary of State for Transport has for breakfast. But the effect of sterling's performance against key foreign currencies on drivers' job security has begun to manifest itself in an extraordinary way

While the pound's relative strength against the deutschmark over the past year has been hailed as proof that the UK economy is strong and stable, it has done little to bolster exports.

Businesses in countries which trade mainly in marks have been hit hard by the dearer rate of sterling. As a result, some UK-based freight forwarders and haulage firms have also been suffering, with many looking for any means possible to reduce overheads.

Now there is mounting anecdotal evidence that those means include employing cheap foreign labour as drivers. The issue has erupted into a big controversy, with allegations that some firms have resorted to deception and the use of "slave" labour to protect profit margins.

The Vehicle Inspectorate has confirmed it is launching an investigation into the use of cheap foreign drivers and the Metropolitan Police is already believed to have started an inquiry. And at least one incensed haulier has asked his MP to look into the matter.

Those companies using drivers from eastern Europe vehemently deny that they are doing anything wrong and insist they are acting within the law. The row hit the headlines last month when unhappy UK owner-drivers contacted CM to complain about hundreds of British-registered lorries being driven around eastern Europe by drivers from non-EU coun

tries, mainly Turkey. In many cases, they alleged, they were unlicensed and untaxed.

These claims centre around three key allegations. One is that Turkish-owned trucks are being dressed up with British number plates to look like UK vehicles. The second is that British-registered trucks are being snapped up by Turkish operators and given a Britishstyle livery And the third is that these vehicles are being manned by Turkish drivers at a fraction of the cost of their UK counterparts.

Attraction

The key attraction in running a British rather than a Turkish truck is that there are huge savings to be made in transit taxes. Turkish-registered lorries which cross Romania, for example, must pay a hefty fee. British vehicles pay considerably less.

With claims that hauliers are getting away with paying Turkish drivers a fifth of what British drivers on the same payroll earn, there are fears that more companies will adopt similar tactics to cut costs and shield profits. "This is cheap labour and it effectively waves goodbye to every international driving job in the country unless it is nipped in the bud," warns a haulier with 12 trucks specialising in hauling goods to Turkey using only UK staff. "This problem is getting bigger by the day. I know of a Turkish operator who has 28 drivers in need of UK visas."

Another haulier, who also insists on anonymity, says he was forced to watch as foreign drivers and firms muscled in on its vital international business: "I was told by a driver that he was in a car park in Istanbul where there were nine British trucks and he thought to himself: 'I must know someone here'. But not one of them was driven by an English person. Our drivers earn between £1,200 £1,500 a month Turkish drivers earn £300 a month."

Davies Turner, which legally uses Turkish drivers, has been reviewing the policy since the row blew up. Joint managing director Philip Stephenson says: "Our policy is to use British drivers first and foremost and as far as our customers will allow us to. But these currency swings have caused a lot of trouble. All our services are operated with partners. In Turkey, it has been the same partner for 10 years and when the pressure is on—such as with the strong pound—our partner puts Turkish drivers in himself.

'Since this was brought to our attention we have double-checked on drivers' 0-licences," it adds. "We've got to be sure people are not taking short cuts."

The rules on who can drive British trucks are unclean As far as Turkish drivers are concerned, the Department of Transport says they are banned from using UK-registered HGVs on a Turkish licence if they are not resident in this country.

At least one UK haulier has been told by his insurance firm that it will not pay a crash repair claim as the company was using a Turkish driver on a Turkish HGV licence. But an exemption to the rules can be provided for visitors from outside the ELT that allows them to drive under their national licences for up to a year, after which time they have to obtain a UK driving licence.

Concerned

The Road Haulage Association says it would be concerned if British drivers were being dumped in favour of cheap foreign labour. The Freight Transport Association wants the enforcement authorities to act.

The Vehicle Inspectorate says it's investigating allegations of deception as a matter of urgency, and it is likely to be carrying out covert surveillance operations on some British firms which are said to be running trucks not registered to them.

David Templernan of the VI's Intelligence Unit for the Eastern Region says: "At the moment all we have got is information from another source. But we are looking into a small hard core of operators."

One haulier has publicly supported the use of foreign drivers. Middlesbrough based Eurohaul, run by John Heads and David Lindsay-Eccles, has been using half-a-dozen drivers from Romania and Hungary for the past six months. According to Heads, they are more trustworthy, don't rip the company off and can do long-haul trips in less time than their English rivals. "I have four excellent UK drivers who are brilliant," he says. "But I've also had Englishmen who get drunk and fight in bars, or go with prosti tutes and steal your running money." All the firm's foreign drivers drive on international licenm;. Heads insists their documentation is watertight and has been cleared by the police during random spot checks. "Now I don't have any trouble," he says. "My phone doesn't ring all the time and I don't have drivers telling me they have run out of money or crashed my truck. I had two brand new N-registered Dais that I've had to trade in because UK drivers wrecked them."

Heads insists his foreign drivers are paid the same as British employees. He says some are earning 10 times what they would at home. They think I'm God and they treat their trucks with the respect that a £60,000 vehicle deserves," he says "You could eat your dinner off the floor of the cabs and one driver even wears slippers when he's driving."

Owner-drivers in particular will be awaiting the outcome of official investigations into the illegal use of cheap foreign labour. But if the practice is as widespread as some claim, it might be difficult to convince freight forwarders to return to paying higher costs.

WHAT THE LAW SAYS

Under the Motor Vehicles (International Circulation) Order 1975: • A Turkish driver is free to drive a Turkish-registered lorry which has been temporarily imported into the UK, such as on an international journey an according to the categories specified in his licences A Turkish notional (non-resident in the UK) cannot drive UKregistered 1-16Vs under cover of a Turkish driving licence • However, the low does provide an exemption for visitors to the UK from outside the EU to drive here under their notional licences fora period of 12 months, after which time they have to obtain a UK driving licence,

QUOTE UNQUOTE

"We are not aware of this practice being particularly widespread. It's something that has only just come to light but there's little evidence to show there are great numbers involved." Deportment of Transport "Our policy is first and foremost to use British drivers. But there is a lot of pressure on margins." Philip Stephenson, joint managing director, Davies Turner "I've no objection to anyone using Turkish drivers as long as they've got an EU driving licence, an 0-licence, proper CMR cover, a green card and they are paying tax in the UK at UK rates. But these drivers are enjoying all of the gain with none of the pain." Haulier who uses British drivers on Turkish routes


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