Whistleblowers' amnesty
Page 7
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
• The United Road Transport Union is negotiating a "whistleblower" amnesty with the Vehicle Inspectorate and police forces to encourage drivers to report law-breaking employers.
URTU also hopes to involve a number of other unions and road safety groups to increase pressure on the Department of Transport and the Government to act.
The initiative, which is part of the union's six-month whistle-blower campaign, is expected to result in enforcement chiefs recommending an amnesty for employees who are constantly forced to break driving hours and maintenance regs by their bosses. This would allow drivers and other employees to report offences without the threat of legal action being brought against them.
URTU says the VI and pol:ce do not prosecute employers enough: it wants them to take a tougher stance on firms that constantly jeopardize road safety. "Many drivers get fed up with being forced to break the law," says URTU, "but by then it's too late because if they come forward they will be implicating themselves and fellow workers.
"Although a long way off coming to fruition, unless you have this immunity employees who want to stop it won't come forward," it adds.