Annex 11 Labour Market Road Transport (including

urban public transport)

Background information for the study ‘Analysis of the

trends and prospects of jobs and working conditions in

transport’

3

Contents

1 EU ROAD TRANSPORT LABOUR MARKET 5

1.1 Introduction 5 1.2 Submodes and professions 5 1.3 Analytical framework 6

2 PESTLE-ANALYSIS ON EU ROAD TRANSPORT LABOUR MARKET 7

2.1 Political factors 7 2.2 Economic factors 12 2.3 Social factors 14 2.4 Technological factors 15 2.5 Legal factors 16 2.6 Environmental factors 22

3 EU ROAD TRANSPORT LABOUR MARKET

TRENDS 25

3.1 Trends in demand 25 3.2 Trends in supply 32

4 DISCREPANCIES EU ROAD TRANSPORT LABOUR MARKET 37

4.1 Quantitative discrepancies 37 4.2 Qualitative discrepancies 40 4.3 Information asymmetries 51

5 REDUCTION OF DISCREPANCIES EU ROAD TRANSPORT LABOUR MARKET 55

5.1 General solutions to discrepancies 55 5.2 Specific solutions to discrepancies road transport 55 5.3 Promoting inflow 57 5.4 Preventing outflow/diminishing labour demand 60

6 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 65

6.1 Sub-sectors and job types 65 6.2 Data and literature 66 6.3 Social dialogue 67 6.4 Road transport undertakings and policies 67 6.5 Demand and supply of labour and skills 69 6.6 Attractiveness of working in the sector 71 6.7 Education, training and certification 72 6.8 Conclusions: bottlenecks and risks 72 6.9 Policy suggestions 73

5

1 EU road transport labour market

1.1 Introduction

This is Annex 11 to the Analysis of the trends and prospects of jobs and working

conditions in transport, commissioned by JRC and conducted by Panteia in

cooperation with PwC Italy. The Annex contains both detailed information and

analyses on the specific transport mode - often distinguishing road transport -

and the transport sector at large which allow the report to be read as a stand-

alone document along the main report.

This Annex covers the PESTLE-analysis, labour market trends, discrepancies in

the labour market, options to reduce the discrepancies and main findings. These

are treated in the consecutive chapters. The results of some specific research

steps and on specific topics are not included as they are presented en block in

the main report. This includes:

Detailed assessment of the relative job quality (Task 4);

Review of the human capital perspective aiming to draw a human capital map

for 2010 and 2020 of the EU transport sector (Task 5);

Findings targeted stakeholder consultation;

(Anecdotic) evidence on social dumping, cabotage and other social problems;

Lists of literature and internet sources.

The Annex does not aim to give a complete new overview of the labour market in

road transport but gives the findings as were anticipated during the execution of

the study. In itself labour market issues and its description are not of static

nature and would require continuous updating.

1.2 Sub-modes and professions

The road transport sector comprises three subsectors:

Trucking;

Coach;

Urban public transport.

The relevant job types considered in road transport are:

Drivers;

Attendants (passengers only);

Management;

Back-office;

Maintenance staff.

Different types of taxi drivers and chauffeurs are:

licensed cab drivers

unregulated ‘minicabs’

minibuses used for collective transport of specific passenger categories (e.g.

elderly or disabled passengers)

limousine drivers

company chauffeurs

6

1.3 Analytical framework

The analytical framework that is applied in the study, comprises four

interconnected labour market models: flow model, discrepancies model, PESTLE-

analysis model and solutions model. On the basis of this analytical framework

the research questions to be answered in this study are formulated. This can be

described as follows:

The external factors influencing the development of the labour market can be

identified by looking at six specific domains. The six dimensions are the

political, economic, social, technological, legal and environmental dimension,

together PESTLE. These six different dimensions can influence the situation

on the transport labour market to a large extent, though some are obviously

more important than others. The PESTLE-model provides, so to speak, a

common language to describe the challenges faced by the different actors.

The EU transport labour market has a demand side and a supply side.

The demand for labour has a quantitative side (number of jobs) as well as a

qualitative side (requirements on workers) and is being influenced by the

specific (labour market) characteristics of the sector.

Likewise, the supply of labour has a quantitative side (number of potential

workers) as well as a qualitative side (characteristics of workers, e.g.

competences).

An ideal sectoral labour market knows completely balanced demand and

supply. In the real world, however, this is mostly not the case: labour

shortages and redundancies cause problems for market agents. Hence, at the

centre of this analysis of the EU transport labour market is the discrepancies

model: the EU transport labour market is analysed according to the three

characteristics of market functioning: (1) quantitative discrepancies, (2)

qualitative discrepancies and (3) transparency of market functioning.

The chapters in this working document follow this structure, first the PESTLE

analysis is carried out. This is followed by description of supply and demand. This

is followed by a description of the discrepancies in the labour market. Thereafter

strategies to reduce discrepancies are discussed. Finally this leads to the main

findings within the specific labour sub-market, these are brought forward to the

main report.

7

2 PESTLE-analysis on EU road transport

labour market

This section describes contextual factors influencing the EU road transport labour

market, the so-called PESTLE-factors: political, economic, social, technological,

legal and environmental factors. By differentiating into these elements of the

PESTLE-analysis a better and structured insight is obtained in the contextual

factors.

2.1 Political factors

2.1.1 General context EU transport labour market

The following political factors play an important role for the EU transport labour

market as a whole:

EU Enlargement, Single Market and Market liberalisation: Transport

companies increasingly make use of more affordable labour from new

Member States and establish subsidiaries in those countries.

Remaining protectionism: Some Member States show in specific areas a

poor record of transposition and effectuation of EU market liberalisation

policy.

Integration of transport system: The EU’s political objective is to

transform the European transport system into an integrated, sustainable and

efficient mobility network.

Central role of social dialogue in EU transport labour market: Social

dialogue figures as a central instrument of governance in the transport labour

market in the European Union and its Member States. At EU-level Sectoral

Social Dialogue Committees play a central role.

Political priority of Life Long Learning (LLL): LLL helps employees to

adapt to the changing circumstances in and requirements of their respective

professions.

Europe 2020 and ”Flexicurity”: Flexicurity consists of ensuring no longer a

job for life ("job security") but of ensuring "employment security" thanks to

active employment policies and an appropriate safety net when one has lost

his/her employment.

Political priority of ecological focus: Emphasis on decarbonisation and

energy security leads to a modal shift and the introduction of alternative

energy and propulsion systems in transport means.

2.1.2 Specific context EU road transport labour market

Market liberalisation

Over the last decade road freight transport in the EU-27 has seen considerable

activity growth (and hence employment growth), and an increase in competitive

pressure has been at work, also following the enlargement of the EU. This has

kept profit margins decreasing, despite remarkable increases in the industry’s

turnover and productivity (even though load levels are still very low in certain

market segments). Considerable differences are to be seen among EU Member

8

States in both operating costs and investment rates, with new Member States

exhibiting lower average personnel costs than the old Member States, but higher

investment rates.

Sitran and Pastori conclude: “The implicat ion of such reasoning, as well as a

major conclusion of this study, is that the direction in which the road freight

transport market has evolved since the liberalisation process started in the

1990s has not entailed a convergence between increased competit ion and a

parallel process of social harmonisation across the EU Member States in the

employment and working conditions for road freight transport workers.

Differences in terms of labour and social market structures amongst the EU

countries remain significantly wide, and, especially in the presence of poor or

ineffective enforcement mechanisms, this may lead to unfair transport

companies adopting disloyal competition and social dumping practices. This

negatively contributes to the current downward trend that is being suffered

today by the road freight transport sector.

Again, enforcement remains a key measure through which the objective of

harmonised working conditions might be reached, together with a common

understanding and application of the relevant regulations, supported by a more

uniform definition of infringements and their associated penalties.” 1

In their views expressed jointly with the ETF, the International Road Transport

Union (IRU)2 recognises that further liberalisation of road transport would be

very difficult to accept, unless further harmonisation of social and tax regimes

and enforcement on the current set of legislation will be implemented.

Otherwise, it will be counterproductive and only highlight and aggravate

problems in the social conditions. On the other hand, one should not forget the

road haulage is still a business that needs to compete and cost cutting is a

normal aspect of doing business.

UITP is also of the opinion that further liberalisation is not needed. They consider

it strange to reopen the dossier on what local authorities can decide upon.

UITP does not see a link between market liberalisation and working conditions in

urban public transport. UITP promotes quality of service and quality of work. The

main decisive factor for social conditions is the quality of the management.

A general issue that is highly valid for taxi drivers and chauffeurs is the

discussion whether they are (or should be) employees or self-employed. Fake

self-employment is said to be a serious problem. However, there is very little or

no data on this issue.

According to ETF, there is a problem due to the liberalisation/competition in this

mode. The companies from the “old” Member States (EU15)have an increased

interest to access cheaper labour from the “new” EU Member States (EU12).

Likewise, companies based in the new Member States will send their fleet to

1 Sitran, A. & E. Pastori (2013). Social and working conditions of road transport hauliers.

Commissioned by the European Parliament, Directorate General for Internal Policies. 2 See social dialogue library entries for joint statements of EU social partners:

http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=521&langId=en&day=&month=&year=&sector

Code=SECT23&themeCode=&typeCode=&recipientCode=&keyword=&mode=searchSubmi

t

9

operate entirely from the old Member States, since most of the road transport

activity is carried out here.

Experience/view of individual road transport companies c.q. national representatives

“Competition exists, especially in a labour market with declining supply of workers. Of course,

issues such as wages and general working conditions determine competitive strength among

those who demand labour on the labour market”.

“Competition exists, but we don’t experience unfair competition. It is actually like a level

playing field”.

“We do not experience competition on the labour market. We do not expect that to happen in

the near future. We will be able to find competent personnel and train them on the job”.

Source: Enterprise survey by Panteia/PWC

Issue that is rather specific on urban transport: social return on investment.

Requirements in rules of concessions of transport services. Frequently local

governments require a percentage (e.g. 10%) of staff to be recruited from the

pool of unemployed. This frequently results in job losses of long-term

experienced employees that often don’t have qualifications that will allow them

to easily find another job, especially in the case of older employees. This

requirement is called social return on investment. In the transport sector this is

common for mini-busses and collective transport of specific client types,

although most cases are currently based on circumstantial and/or anecdotal

evidence. In some cases this means that these experienced former employees

will need to receive unemployment benefits. It could very well be the case that

the companies involved will have lower labour cost, but the costs of employment

benefits will be the same, but sometime these are covered by another fund. In

total it could very well be a zero-sum solution. No evidence of similar issues

have come to our notice on national level so far.

There are reported issues with subcontracting within concessions. There is some

evidence of urban transport companies and taxi companies that subcontract

some of the work that falls within the framework of their concession. These

subcontracts typically require employees to work under worse conditions and at

lower pay than employees that work directly for the holder of the concession.

These lower conditions are typically not easily visible and are usually not

monitored or controlled. This could be an area where chain-responsibility to

avoid social dumping could be explored of as a possible solution.

Social dialogue

State of the art (partners, priorities)

European social dialogue in this sector covers passenger and freight transport by

road. The Sectoral Social Dialogue Committee Road Transport comprises the

employers’ organisation International Road Transport Union (IRU) and the

employees' organisation European Transport Workers' Federation (ETF). IRU has

signed a cooperation agreement with the International Association of Public

Transport (UITP) with regard to its participation in the committee.

10

The Committee is currently (2013-2014) focusing on:

Better rest facilities;

Logistics qualifications;

The driver training directive;

Better enforcement of EU driving and rest time rules;

Driver shortages, image and recruitment in road transport;

The European Skills, Competences and Occupations Project (ESCO);

Illegal employment;

Urban public transport.1

Achievements, difficulties and deficiencies

Achievements are amongst others:

Joint social partner project on skills, training and the road transport sector

(STARTS) (2010-12);

Joint project on women employment in urban public transport sector (WISE)

(2010-12);

Joint statement on parking along Europe's road transport network (2011);

Joint statement on the review of the tachograph regulation (2010);

Statement on the economic crisis (2009).2

Two problems appear to occur in Sectoral Social Dialogue in road transport:

In fear of certain clashes, social partners are reluctant to agree with the

principle of the establishment of a social code which would set minimum

working condition rules in the road haulage sector.3 The reluctance to agree,

stops the Commission from formalising these social standards in legislative

acts.

Self-employed may be disadvantaged in Social Dialogue because of the

absence of representing trade unions.

One must – as a general principle – be realistic about what social dialogue can

do. Social dialogue is an instrument to gain agreement, but it is not the way for

the Commission to tell partners what to do. Furthermore, because of the

‘atomised’ structure of the road transport sector the vast majority of companies

are SMEs. This means that marginal changes (can) have major consequences for

(companies in) the sector. The road transport sector is also characterised by

small companies and social dialogue is limited. There is also a lot of competition.

According to IRU, Sectoral Social Dialogue goes quite well. Though reaching

agreement in the negotiations is always difficult, all-in-all there are no serious

problems. The Sectoral Social Dialogue is showing convergence of views.

Common views have been drafted and policy scenarios have been formulated and

1 Sectoral Social Dialogue Committee Road Transport (2012). Working Programme 2013-

2014. 2 http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=480&langId=en&intPageId=1850 3 In line with the principles of the Social Dialogue, if they social partners can agree on

these social standards, the Commission then formalises these agreements in legislative

acts. Partners are afraid of certain clashes, they cannot agree and social dialogue grind to

a halt. In the particular case of the 2002 sectoral working time directive this happened.

The Commission had to step in and propose its own minimum social requirements.

11

provided to the Commission. Best practices are projects run together with ETF,

such as TRACE1 on enforcement and STARTS2 on skills and training.

In the view of UITP, the process of Sectoral Social Dialogue in urban public

transport – which has been going on for ten years - has not been very

satisfactory as it is included in the road transport dialogue. Urban public

transport should have its own dialogue as it represents 1.2 million jobs.

According to ETF, Sectoral Social Dialogue in road transport (including urban

public transport) is going well. There is a common understanding between

employers and employees, due to the existence of unfair competition in the

sector and the demand of clients for cheaper transport.

As far as the representation of self-employed drivers in social dialogue is

concerned, unfortunately, very few self-employed drivers are unionised. This will

prevent self-employed drivers to be covered by collective bargaining

agreements, particularly in Member States such as Romania and Greece where

collective bargaining can only be conducted at company level.

They also indicate that lack of political will can sometimes be a problem at EU

Commission level. In their view the EC disregard the lack of enforcement of key

directives and regulations such as the working time directive and the regulation

on access to occupation. The latter was which was supposed to eradicate the

letter box companies which still exist today, in an even bigger number than a

few years ago. However, in general enforcement is a Member State competence

and the EC follows up on implementation of these pieces of legislation, for

instance by launching infringement procedures against Member States which

don't apply the Working Time Directive to self-employed personnel which are not

connected to European Register of Road Transport Undertakings (ERRU), or by

asking Member States to carry out targeted checks of companies not complying

with the stable establishment criterion of Regulation 1071/2009.

Regarding enforcement the High Level Group on the Development of the EU Road

Haulage Market3 (2012) indicated that enforcement in road freight transport has

proved to be particularly challenging due to the intrinsic characteristics of the

sector. It is a service sector and less easy to control than other sectors such as

manufacturing, it is also highly mobile in space and time. Cabotage is by its

nature even less predictable in terms of its operations than international

transport, depending as it does on the matching of empty returns and local

demand, and the information linking these two components. The limit of three

1 http://www.traceproject.eu/ 2 http://starts.iru.org/en_home 3 An important input for this study are the Report of the High Level Group on the

Development of the EU Road Haulage Market (2012) which was chaired by B T Bayliss.

The High Level Group was mandated to examine “the extent to which the necessary

framework conditions for the full opening and integration of the EU market have been

achieved and, if relevant, what remaining obstacles needed to be tackled”. The High Level

Group identified and researched four key obstacles to the creation of a Single European

Transport Area, namely driver shortage, enforcement practices, cabotage practices and

lack of innovations and applications of good practice.

12

cabotage operations permissible following an international trip is seen as

particularly difficult to enforce. 1

2.2 Economic factors

2.2.1 General context EU transport labour market

As discussed in the main text of this report, the following economic factors play

an important role for the EU transport labour market as a whole:

General economic growth and the crisis: The current economic and

financial crisis lowers demand for transport services and leads to the

postponement or halting of investments in transport, infrastructure and

business in general. It also leads to rationalisation and outsourcing.

Furthermore, it creates high unemployment in the economy as a whole in

some countries which puts pressure on labour markets.

Geopolitical changes and globalisation: Geopolitical changes and

globalisation of economies and trade lead to redistribution of transport flows,

increasing transnational recruitment and impact on transport prices and

wages.

Regional differences in economic development & specialisation:

Successful regions specialise in a number of economic areas, leading to

specific development in transport

Congestion hampering and redistributing growth: Congestion of road

transport routes, but also specifically in urban areas, will increase and

seriously affect accessibility.

2.2.2 Specific context EU road transport labour market

Operators – particularly the small and medium-sized enterprises – in road

transport must cope in an environment dominated by fierce intra-modal

competition and with the impact of external factors (such as the economic crisis

and high fuel prices)2:

Road freight transport companies operate in a highly competitive

environment. Maintaining and enhancing competitiveness is a major

challenge. Greater demands from customers for precision, speed and

flexibility in the delivery of goods result in ‘just in time’ deliveries. Combined

with tough competition, this causes tight deadlines, increased work intensity

and reduced control of pace and organisation of work.3

The opening of the market for European freight cabotage transport services

in the EU has been a major driver of change in the past ten years. The

gradual market opening has had significant impacts on competition,

especially in EU15 Member States4. It is mentioned that as long as socio-

1 Sitran, A. & E. Pastori (2013). Social and working conditions of road transport hauliers.

Commissioned by the European Parliament, Directorate General for Internal Policies.

2 EESC (2011), TEN/445. Social aspects of EU Transport Policy. 3 Eurofound (2004). EU road freight transport sector: Work and employment conditions. 4 Steer Davies Gleave (2013), Development and implementation of EU road cabotage,

prepared for Directorate General for internal policies policy department B: Structural; and

cohesion policies transport and tourism

13

economic differences between the old and new EU Member States have not

been reduced, unrestricted cabotage will have too much of a negative effect

on the sector in various countries. Infringements of the cabotage rules

(which imply distortion of the competitive level playing field) are an

additional problem which are frequently mentioned although hard evidence is

not publicly available.

Moreover, the sector is also characterised by a particular susceptibility to the

economic climate. The current economic crisis in the EU has had a negative

impact on growth of road freight transport.

To the consequences of the economic crisis, the impact of other external

factors such as high fuel prices has to be added.1

On the other hand, the transport of persons, a public service in many

Member States, is generally less affected by economic crises. 2

Commission staff notes that road transport activities have actually started to

increase again in recent years following a sharp drop with the economic crisis

(+3% in tkm between 2009 and 2010, with total volumes albeit still below pre-

crisis levels).

In the opinion of IRU, at the moment the impacts of the economic crisis are

paramount. As a result of the economic crisis, demand for transport and thus

demand labour in the sector are lower. As a result, also the labour shortages are

temporarily lower. It remains unsure when the economy will move upward again.

According to UITP, the International Association of Public Transport, the crisis

has had only limited impact on employment on urban public transport. Despite

reduced frequencies of transport services, dismissals are very rare. Some

decreases of salaries have been noted, however.

Experience/view of individual road transport companies c.q. national representatives

“We have an economic crisis. This is the most important factor”.

“Economy has huge impact especially the cost of fuel. Every year the cost fuel ration increases

in our cost breakdown. Fuel prices together with the demand of EU customers demand for cost

reduction give a mixture of killing transport companies. Most of the people are able to buy an

expensive car, but most of the manufacturers would like to pay minimum for transport. Good

transport service should have the same high value as the transported goods. Our employees

would like to buy luxury goods, too. So our income as company should give them safety of life ”.

“Because of the economic circumstances and the power of the market (multinationals for

example), our drivers experience more pressure. On the other hand, pressure from shippers

who have more logistic requirements will cause longer waiting times. We should do something

about this productivity problem”.

Source: Enterprise survey by Panteia/PWC

1 EESC (2011), TEN/445. Social aspects of EU Transport Policy. 2 Eurofound (2004). EU road freight transport sector: Work and employment conditions.

14

2.3 Social factors

2.3.1 General context EU transport labour market

As discussed in the main text of this report, the following social factors play an

important role for the EU transport labour market as a whole:

Demographic development: Growing population (even if slowly, means

more demand for transport of passengers and thus more demand for labour)

and an ageing workforce (less supply of labour)

High level of unemployment in many EU countries: This puts a downward

pressure on wages and working conditions and may make that past training

and formation of the unemployed becomes obsolete or forgotten.

Underrepresentation of women in the workforce: As a result of difficult

working conditions, stereotypical masculine image of the transport sector and

disadvantageous work-life balance not many women are attracted to the

transport sector.

Continuous monitoring of employee performance: Increased control over

employees’ performance - made possible by IT developments – can lead to

perceived pressure and possibly create stress.

Violence in the public domain: Violence has also manifested in the

transport sector and is particularly reported in the passenger transport sector.

Organised crime: The transport sector suffers from crime increasing

organised crime, especially in road freight transport and maritime transport

(piracy).

Development of a liability culture: Transport employees are facing legal

action when incidents occur under their responsibility.

2.3.2 Specific context EU road transport labour market

Social aspects in road transport

Social conditions in road vary widely between the old and new Member States.

Especially on international routes the limited enforcement of the existing acquis

communautaire is leading to detrimental working conditions for some categories

of workers1.

Urbanisation

About half of the world’s population currently lives in urban areas. The world’s

urbanisation rate is growing steadily and it is set to reach 70% in 2050. Cities

are thus becoming evermore crucial for economic development and job creation.

The harmonious development of cities critically relies on efficient mobility and

high quality public transport. UITP has addressed this challenge by setting out

the ambitious objective of doubling the public transport market share worldwide

by 20252.

1 Openness of International Road Freight Transport Markets in the UNECE Region, Economic

Commission for Europe Inland Transport Committee Working Party on Road Transport

107th session, Peter Krausz dr. oec. univ., consultant, mandated by the Transport

Division of the United Nations Economic Commission 2 UITP (2013), Observatory of employment in public transport. Report 1 - April 2011.

15

Organised crime

The road transport sector, in particular the road freight transport sector,

increasingly suffers from organised crime. Amongst others, this is due to longer

days on the road and sleeping in trucks on unsecured parking areas. This

increasing organised crime is detrimental for both the job quality and image of

the transport labour market.

2.4 Technological factors

2.4.1 General context EU transport labour market

As discussed in the main text of this report, the following technological factors

play an important role for the EU transport labour market as a whole:

Increasing use of IT

Technological innovations

Faster and larger transport means

Intermodality: Making use of the advantages of different transport modes

(e.g. between rail and road) that are neatly tuned to each other, thus keeping

transfer time and cost (for passengers and freight) between the different

modes at a minimum.

These technological developments lead to:

Efficiency & productivity gains, economies of scale and smarter

mobility & logistics (less demand for labour or more demand if activity

grows as a result of lower prices)

Diversification of requirement leading to specialised jobs

Upgrading of labour (more complex job requirements).

2.4.2 Specific context EU road transport labour market

Specific technological developments such as the introduction of the digital

tachograph, satellite tracking devices (GPS) and on-board computers, as well as

the use of mobile telephones result in changes both, positive and negative.

Positive effects are that technological developments increase road safety, result

in more accessible drivers (e.g. for family information), lead to less

administration, more efficient planning and more accurate cost calculations. The

negative effects are higher levels of control, resulting in feelings of restricted

autonomy. On the other hand, they also make enforcement easier (e.g.

tachograph). These technological changes also affect the required skills for

workers in the sector1.

Commission staff points at the fact that, as intermodal transport has been

embraced by many, logistics training must be adapted to this principal. This is

also discussed in the Sectoral Social Dialogue Committee.

1 Eurofound (2004). EU road freight transport sector: Work and employment conditions.

16

2.5 Legal factors

2.5.1 General context EU transport labour market

As discussed in the main text of this report, the following legal factors play an

important role for the EU transport labour market as a whole:

Different social regimes between Member States: In general wages,

working conditions and social security are less favourable in new Member

States compared to the other Member States. As discussed in the main text,

this may lead to social dumping of which little evidence, but a great number

of actual suspicions and cases is available.

Different social legislation between transport modes: Besides horizontal

EU social legislation, transport modes have their own social regulations

(especially in the field of (harmonisation of) training and certification and

working times). EU specific regulations on the phenomenon of false self-

employment are still lacking. A problem remains the enforcement of the EU

Directives at national level.

Non-EU workers under lower standard legal regime: The co-existence of

non-EU-workers carrying out intra-EU transport, who may choose as State of

Residence a Member State with less favourable legal and social regimes, has

an impact on average working conditions and remuneration packages.

Although non-EU workers must always be subject for a start to the legislation

of a Member State, they easily fall prey to illegal practices. Their weight on

labour supply reduces the negotiating position of the other workers.

Safety regulations to protect both transport workers and society: As a

result of EU safety regulations the safety conditions for transport workers and

society at large (i.e. passengers and other road users) have increased.

2.5.2 Specific context EU road transport labour market

Social legislation

EU regulations concerning (harmonisation of) training and certification

In road transport, training and recognition of competences is governed by a

number of EU legislations:

Council Directive 96/26/EC of 29 April 1996 on admission to the occupation of

road haulage operator and road passenger operator and mutual recognition of

diplomas, certificates and other evidence of formal qualifications intended to

facilitate for these operators the right to freedom of establishment in national

and international transport operations. In this context, the Directive most

relevant provision is that Member States must accept as sufficient proof the

certificates and documents issued by another Member State.

The unsatisfactory application of the abovementioned Directive in Member States

raised the necessity to produce Regulation (EC) 1071/2009 establishing common

rules concerning the conditions to be complied with to pursue the occupation of

road transport operator. The aim of this Regulation is to achieve further

harmonisation of standards, facilitate the right of establishment in other Member

States and thus improving standing and quality of road transport. Harmonised

17

standards and certificates are expected to lead to a geographical and intra-

market increase in mobility of workers.

Regulation (EC) No 484/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 1

March 2002 amending Council Regulations (EEC) No 881/92 and (EEC) No

3118/93 for the purposes of establishing a driver attestation (Drive Licence).

This regulation aims to establish a uniform Community attestation permitting the

effective checking of the regularity of the employment status of drivers from

third countries employed by hauliers in the MS and engaged in the international

carriage of goods. This Regulation was repealed by Regulation (EC) No

1072/2009 on access to the international road haulage market. This Regulation

also sets down the conditions for issuing Community licenses. It repeals

Regulations (EEC) No 3118/93 and Directive 2006/64/EC.

Directive 2003/59/EC of 15 July 2003 on the initial qualification and periodic

training of drivers of certain road vehicles for the carriage of goods or

passengers, amending Council Regulation (EEC) No 3820/85 and Council

Directive 91/439/EEC and repealing Council Directive 76/914/EEC aimed at

enabling drivers to meet the new demands arising from the development of the

road transport market by obliging existing drivers to undergo periodic retraining

in the skills essential for their profession in order to maintain their qualification

of driver. The directive also requires that the State makes arrangements to

approve training programs and certify trainers delivering those programmes.

As a result professional drivers in the European Union cannot work anymore

solely on the basis of their driving licence but are required to achieve knowledge

on the construction and main component parts of a vehicle, general knowledge

on transport and administrative procedures and practical experience on driving

goods or passenger vehicles.

Besides improved road safety, the objective of Directive 2003/59/EC is also the

enhancement of the quality of the profession. In the view of the EESC, this is a

good example of a regulatory measure that will have a further positive impact on

the status of the driver ultimately helping to make the profession more

attractive, especially as substantial technological progress in this sector requires

highly skilled professional drivers. However, all now depends on the Member

States' implementation of the directive. The challenge consists in establishing

sufficient, high-quality training provision, a quality training curriculum and the

funding of initial and continuous training. With regard to the latter, practices

have emerged whereby costs of the initial and/or continuous training are

imposed on the driver, which will only render, in the mid-term, recruitment

problems in the sector more severe1.

A specific topic is also the relation between the Rome I Regulation and the

Posted Workers Directive. The Rome I Regulation (Regulation (EC) No 593/2008

of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 June 2008 on the law

applicable to contractual obligations) is a regulation which governs the choice of

law in the European Union. The EU Posted Workers Directive (96/71/EC) is an EU

directive concerned with the free movement of workers within the European

1 EESC (2011), TEN/445. Social aspects of EU Transport Policy.

18

Union. It makes an exception to the Convention on the Law Applicable to

Contractual Obligations 1980, which ordinarily requires that workers are

protected by the law of the member state in which they work. After a

controversial set of decisions by the European Court of Justice, the Directive has

come under criticism for reducing rights of posted workers and undermining the

rights of workers in a home nation. There have been criticisms that employees

are suffering lower social protection by creative use of the legal framework by

employer, which in some cases is considered abuse by employee representatives.

EU regulations concerning working conditions

To protect workers’ health and safety, minimum rules are needed on working

time in all EU Member States. For all the sectors, the basic Directive is Directive

2003/88/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 4 November 2003

concerning certain aspects of the organisation of working time (in short: the

Working Time Directive, see main text). European Community has set specific

regulations on driving time and rest periods in road transport, international

railway transport and air transport. In road transport, the general working time

directive applies to some road transport workers who are not covered by the

provisions of the specific road transport working time directive (see below) such

as small commercial vehicles (less than 3.5 tonnes or less than 10 passengers,

including a driver) or regular passenger transport services whose route is less

than 50 km.

Driving time and rest periods

Relevant for road transport is the Regulation (EC) No 561/2006 of the European

Parliament and of the Council of 15 March 2006 on the harmonisation of certain

social legislation relating to road transport. The main provisions include:

The daily driving period shall not exceed 9 hours, with an exemption twice a

week when a maximum period of 10 hours is allowed.

There can be six driving periods per week.

The total weekly driving time may not exceed 56 hours and the total

fortnightly driving time may not exceed 90 hours.

The daily rest period shall be at least 11 hours, although by way of exception

this may be reduced to 9 hours three times a week.

There is provision for a split rest of 3 hours followed by 9-hour rests to make

a total of 12 hours rest per day.

Weekly rest is 45 continuous hours, which can be reduced to 24 hours.

Compensation arrangements apply for reduced weekly rest periods.

Breaks of at least 45 minutes (separable into 15 minutes followed by 30

minutes) should be taken after 4½ hours at the latest.

The latest biennial implementation report (2009-2010) shows that the general

effectiveness of enforcement is gradually improving and so is the correctness of

implementation of the legislation. The increasingly widespread use of the digital

tachograph and the package of measures adopted by the Commission in 2009

19

aimed at detecting and preventing abuses of the tachograph system have played

a significant role in such positive developments.1

Working time

Directive 2002/15/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 March

2002 on the organisation of the working time of persons performing mobile road

transport activities lays down minimum requirements with regard to the

organisation of the working time for all persons performing mobile road transport

activities, including self-employed drivers, in order to improve road safety,

health and safety of drivers, and prevent distortion of competition. It also

supplements the provisions of the abovementioned Regulation (EC) 561/2006

which lays down common rules on drivers' driving time and rest periods. More

particularly, it contains the following general provisions:

Definitions of working time, periods of availability, workstation, mobile

worker, self-employed driver, week, night time and night work;

Maximum working week: 48 hours (this can be extended to 60 hours

provided an average of 48 hours per week is not exceeded in any 4 month

period);

Breaks: not more than 6 hours should be worked consecutively without a

break (at least 30 min when 6 to 9 hours are worked per day);

Rest time: the provisions of Regulation (EC) 561/2006 are maintained;

Night work: not more than 10 hours worked in any 24-hour period when a

night shift is performed.

The rules are applicable to all mobile workers from 23 March 2005, while self -

employed drivers were temporary excluded until 23 March 2009. A proposal for a

Directive by the Commission to make this exclusion permanent while tackling the

problem of false self-employed drivers was rejected by the European Parliament.

An assessment of the impact of the working time directive on collective

bargaining in the road transport sector concluded that the current working time

rules combined with enhanced clarity of the scope of the Directive and

accompanied by clear enforcement rules will reduce distortion of competition and

enable better social protection of workers and assimilated groups.2 Working time

rules are thus applicable to all drivers, including self-employed ones, as of 23

March 2009.

1 European Commission (2012). Report on the implementation in 2009-2010 of Regulation

(EC) No 561/2006 on the harmonisation of certain social legislation relating to road

transport and of Directive 2002/15/EC on the organisation of the working time of persons

performing mobile road transport activities (26th report from the Commission on the

implementation of the social legislation relating to road transport). 2 Source: Commission staff working document - Impact assessment accompanying the

proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directive

2002/15/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 March 2002 on the

organisation of the working time of persons performing mobile road transport activities

{COM(2008)650} {SEC(2008)2631} /* SEC/2008/2632 */. See also other relevant

(underlying) documents: Eurofound (2007). Impact of the working time directive on

collective bargaining in the road transport sector. Other relevant – older – documents in

this respect are: COM(2007) 266 final. Report from the Commission to the council and

the European Parliament on the consequences of the exclusion of self employed drivers

from the scope of the Directive 2002/15/EC of the European Parliament and of the

Council of 11 March 2002 on the organisation of the working time of persons performing

mobile road transport activities; TNO (2006). R0622373/018-31364; Road Transport

Working Time Directive Self-employed and Night Time Provisions.

20

Achievements, difficulties and deficiencies in EU social legislation

According to the EESC the road transport sector benefits from its own social

legislation. The chief problem is the failure to enforce working, driving and rest

time regulations, although legislation has been improved and more checks are

carried out. The same is true for the application of the posted workers' directive

for road transport workers engaged in cabotage services1. In the main report

some examples are provided.

Also in the view of the Commission, enforcement at national level could be

improved. This goes especially for enforcement of rules on working time rules

(the rules on driving time and rest periods are better designed and better

enforced2). There are no minimum general checking mechanisms in the Member

States because it is a Directive, which allows for national interpretation and

provisions.

It was mentioned that when the driving times Regulation was being revised the

Commission proposed the enforcement directive (now 2006/22/EC) which would

cover also controls of the working time directive 2002/15 the Council did not

agree to it. Hence the lack of enforcement of the working time is not only due to

the type of the legislative act but rather low attention or lack of control

arrangements in Member States which is linked to the lack of the EU specific

requirements on it.

Also Member States differ in ways and capacity to enforce the rules. The current

situation discourages new drivers as many companies break the rules, set up

disruptive work patterns and set drivers up to unlawful practices (not abiding

with legal framework).

Commission staff also points at (the involvement of the social partners in) the

current review of Regulations (EC) No 1071/2009 and 1072/2009, which state

rules on cabotage services. These regulations have an effect on labour costs and

working conditions. According to IRU, lack of clarity of these regulations

remains. IRU still has to explain to the market what was discussed and agreed

upon in 2009.

According to IRU, the main challenge is to develop a pan-European policy on

social aspects with realistic and workable solutions, for instance on the working

time Directive and the posted workers Directive. Further legislative actions would

be beneficial on harmonisation of enforcement. The common initiative that

defines categories of infringements is very important in this aspect. At the same

time, IRU continues to support exclusion of self-employed drivers from the

working time rules for road transport workers. This is considered a purely

theoretical discussion as the rules are not enforceable.

1 EESC (2011), TEN/445. Social aspects of EU Transport Policy. 2 The driving time rules are also better enforceable because technical measures such as the

tachograph make it much easier to check drivers. Working time rules, however, are much

harder to check as drivers can have other duties than driving, and these times are not

registered.

21

The most pressing deficiencies in the opinion of IRU concern rising demands and

costs associated with the directive on initial qualification and periodic training of

drivers. There are differences between the Member States whether the country,

the companies or the drivers themselves have to pay. There is also a clear lack

of harmonisation in training models, leaving room for manoeuvre. In general,

price is the winner, which means lower quality. There are fake certificates out

there (including ADR certificates for transport of dangerous goods), leading to

non- recognition by some Member States. There is a need for revision and

improvement of the supervisions quality. The problems are documented in the

STARTS-project1 and a comparative study by the Commission.

ETF points at various problems in EU legislation:

There is a problem with the exclusion of the light goods vehicles (LGVs) from

EU legislation regarding driving/rest times in road transport. This results in

no limits to driving/rest time for LGV drivers. They are covered by national

legislation.

According to the ETF, excluding self-employed drivers from the working time

rules in road transport would negatively impact health and safety. It would

mean that self-employed drivers are allowed to work more than 80 hours per

week2. Driving time rules alone will fail to address fatigue.3

Enforcement of the regulations remains a problem. While the driving time is

well monitored the working time is not. Other problems are the regulatory

framework that aims to avoid the creation and operation of letterbox

companies, but which is difficult for Member States to enforce, 4 and the lack

of interconnection of registers of Road Transport Companies at EU-level5.

UITP considers the directive on initial qualification and periodic training of drivers

to be sufficient.

Regarding urban public transport, ETF points at the missing driving/rest times

regulation and the lack of enforcement of the existing regulations.

Experience/view of individual road transport companies c.q. national representatives

“When it comes to legislation at EU and/or national level, the most pressing problems are the

1 Skills, Training And The Road Transport Sector (STARTS), Pillar 1 Survey on driver

training issues / Implementation of Directive 2003/59/EC prepared by Transport and

Logistics Research Department (DETL) for DG EMPL (2012). 2 The Commission argues that since before the sunset clause of Dir 2002/15 kicked in, self-

employed drivers (like all other self-employed workers) were excluded from the scope of

Dir 2002/15 and could work as long (or little) as they pleased. There was therefore never

an obligation to work an 80 or 86 hour week. They were/are however subject to the

driving time and rest periods of Reg 561/2006 like all other drivers. In any case they are

now subject to the working time restrictions of Dir 2002/15 which makes such a working

week impossible, although it is difficult to see how this can be enforced 3 ETF (2010), The ETF contribution to the future European Commission Road Safety Action

programme for the period 2011-2020. 4 In road transport, still a large number of letterbox companies exists. The have not been

closed down by the Member States. An example of this is Denmark in which the

enforcement of the regulations in this field has been problematic. 5 Member States are obliged to set up national electronic registers of road transport

undertakings and to establish an interconnection between these before 31 December

2012 under Regulation (EC) No 1071/2009, but not all of them are interconnected. The

Commission is taking measures, including infringement procedures and is supporting

Member States in solving technical difficulties related to interconnecting registers.

22

working and rest time directives at EU level and the rules on cabotage. For the first mentioned

category of rules we would like to see that the provisions allow more flexibility fo r drivers to

choose their rest times. For instance, if a driver may choose to rest at home and not a

mandatory stop in e,g. Spain, this may greatly increase his work/life balance. The 2009

regulation on cabotage is often attacked for being hard to enforce. We agree, but it is up to the

member states to take up this challenge. Our position is that cabotage services should be

liberalised, in a step-by-step fashion, especially if we, as Europeans, want a common market”.

“We would like to see that legislation gives transport companies the possibility and environment

to make business instead of blocking it. We hope we get no new limitations by the European

Commission, so there’s a need of further deregulation.

On the other hand, there is a need for more social legislation for drivers. The European

Commission should participate in the discussion of, for example, the AETR. In our opinion, it is

important to make more social legislation for (truck) drivers like decreasing hours, and longer

rest times. We should give the drivers the possibility to have a reasonable time for a rest that

allows him to work efficiently. A driver has to wait 45 hours far away from home just to fulfil

the legal regulations”.

Source: Enterprise survey by Panteia/PWC

2.6 Environmental factors

2.6.1 General context EU transport labour market

As discussed in the main text of this report, the following environmental factors

play an important role for the EU transport labour market as a whole:

Implementation of (EU and national) sustainability policies: Emphasis

on sustainability increases and affects job requirements in the transport

sector.

Modal shift and clean power transport: There is shift towards cleaner

modes of transport and cleaner technologies within each mode with an

increasing demand for public transport and electro-mobility.

“Eco-driving”, consolidation of flows and smarter logistics: These

developments affect both job requirements and labour demand in the

transport sector

Employment potential of “Green transport” Europe needs to change to a

green, low carbon and resource efficient-economy. Transforming the economy

in this direction will provide an important source of jobs if the right skills are

provided. The Commission has developed this subject under its "Towards a

job-rich recovery" Communication1. The Commission also participates in THE

PEP: This UNECE partnership aims at exploring new options for job creation

and economic development, and maximising at the same time the potential

gains for environment and health through innovative transport policies.

1 http://ec.europa.eu/social/BlobServlet?docId=7619&langId=en

23

2.6.2 Specific context EU road transport labour market

The road transport sector has undergone significant changes aimed at

environmental protection. This includes requirements for certification of drivers.

Enforcement of these requirements seems insufficient in some Member States.

Public transport is a fast-growing sector which plays an active role in the

development of the urban economy. While green growth is tagged as a major

factor of economic recovery in developed economies, and a condition for

sustainability in developing economies, the potential of public transport to

provide green, stable jobs that develop professional skills is one of its key

assets1.

1 UITP (2013), Observatory of employment in public transport. Report 1 - April 2011.

25

3 EU road transport labour market trends

This section describes trends in demand for and supply of labour on the EU road

trasport labour market.

3.1 Trends in demand

3.1.1 General trends in demand

As discussed in the main text of this report, the following trends hold for the EU

transport labour market as a whole:

Employment (number of jobs): Following upon a long period of

employment growth, in 2009 and 2010 in the EU 27 the transportation and

storage sector showed a decrease in employment. In 2010, the total number

of occupied persons in the transportation and storage sector (excluding

postal and courier activities) amounted to 9,344,700 (against 9,433,500 in

2009 and 9,571,00 in 2008). In 2010, more than half of the occupied persons

(56.4%) worked in road transport and nearly a third in logistics (29.0%).

Labour mobility: As concerns labour mobility, people can move from job to

job within the same transport company, from company to company within the

same transport (sub)mode, between different (sub)sectors and/or between

different regions or countries (geographical mobility).

Number of vacancies: Compared to employment figures, vacancies are

much more vulnerable to cyclical factors and economic conditions and must

be interpreted as such. For the EU-27 the figures point towards a decline of

labour demand in transport for the period 2008-2011. No recent figures on

vacancies are available. Expectations are that after the economic crisis

labour demand will rise again.

Job requirements/ job types: In the transport sector, there is a general

trend towards job polarisation (employers mainly look for highly or lowly

qualified workers, not for medium qualified workers). Furthermore, demand

for IT personnel and multi-skill jobs increases. At all skill levels, most jobs in

demand will be more and more characterised by non-routine tasks which are

not easily replaced by technology or organisational change.

Prognoses labour demand 2020: Future employment trends in transport

depend on a number of factors such as the development of trade and

economic activities, an ageing population and people's mobility patterns,

technological developments, energy availability and prices, measures towards

sustainable transport, alternative transport modes etc.

In the period 2010-2020 total employment in the transport and storage

sector in the EU-27 is expected to decrease with annually 0.1%; the

decrease being concentrated in non-transport related labour. Significant

employment losses are expected in warehousing and support activities. Land

transport is on average, whereas employment increases in water transport

and air transport.

Overall, employment of transport-related occupations is expected to remain

constant over the next decade. Results per occupation are closely related to

the employment results for individual sectors of industry. Results per

occupation are closely related to the employment results for individual

26

sectors of industry. For instance, the significant increases for air controllers,

air traffic safety technicians, aircraft pilots, conductors (to some extent) and

travel attendants are closely related to the employment increase in air

transport. Similar reasoning applies to ships’ personnel. Conversely,

employment of land transport related occupations is expected to decrease.

3.1.2 Specific demand trends road transport

Employment development (number of jobs)

The figure and table below illustrate the development of employment in road

transport.

Figure 3.1 Employment development (yearly change in occupied persons, in %) in

land transport (rail, road) and transport via pipelines and transportation

and storage (excl. postal and courier activities) as a whole, EU 27, 2003-

2010

-2,00

-1,50

-1,00

-0,50

0,00

0,50

1,00

1,50

2,00

2,50

3,00

2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

transportation and storage excl. postal and courier activities

land transport and transport via pipelines

Source: Panteia based on Eurostat

27

Table 3.1 Employment (occupied persons, in 1000s) in road transport and

transportation and storage (excl. postal and courier activities) as a whole,

EU 27, 2008, 2009 and 2010

2008 2009 2010 Change

2009-

2010

(in

1000s)

Total 9571,7 9433,5 9344,7 -88,8

Land transport and transport via pipelines 6020,7 6036,3 5977,3 -59,0

Passenger rail transport interurban 513,9 514,7 510,4 -4,3

Freight rail transport 176,0 176,2 174,7 -1,5

Total rail 689,8 691,0 685,1 -5,8

Other passenger land transport 2183,4 2189,1 2167,6 -21,4

Freight transport by road and removal services 3124,1 3132,8 3101,3 -31,5

Total road (incl. urban public) 5307,5 5321,9 5269,0 -53,0

Transport via pipeline 23,4 23,4 23,2 -0,2

Total pipeline 23,4 23,4 23,2 -0,2

Source: Panteia based on Eurostat

In 2010, road transport (including urban public transport) accounted for 56,4%

of the employment in the sector transportation and storage (excl. postal and

courier activities) as a whole in the EU 27. 5,269,000 persons were occupied in

road transport (against 5,321,900 in 2009 and 5,307,500 in 2008). A majority

(3,101,300) of the employment in road transport in 2001 is in freight transport

by road and removal services and a minority (2,167,600) in passenger land

transport other than interurban rail transportation.

Looking at land transport and transport via pipelines as a whole, figure 3.1

shows that, in general, employment development is less favourable than in the

sector transportation and storage (excl. postal and courier activities) as a whole.

However, in this respect the year 2009 is a-typical.

The road freight transport sector positions itself as the dominant freight mode

covering three quarters of the total market. Over the last decade road freight

transport in the EU-27 has seen considerable activity growth. The accession of

the twelve new Member States has extensively contributed to this. The gradual

opening of the internal market, the stronger economic growth of the new

Member States and the increase in the specialisation of the production

processes, inducing larger flows of goods, have led to an increased demand for

freight transport in general. It has also led to greater differences in labour costs

across the Member States, with the risk of downward pressure on wages, and to

stronger competition.

The road freight transport sector is a major employer in the EU. Employment in

this sector has been increasing at a faster rate than total employment, but is

markedly differentiated across EU Member States, being particularly significant

in the New Member States and in those countries where the initial employment

was lower.

28

Employment in road freight transport is further characterised by amongst others:

Considerable geographic concentration of the activity (more than the half of

total goods transport in tkm is accounted for by Germany, Spain, France and

Italy)

High degree of market fragmentation (from 65% to over 95% of companies

have less than ten employees), where a few big players tend to dominate the

market, working in close cooperation with freight consolidators such as

shippers and freight forwarders, and subcontract various activities to

medium-size and small companies.

A large share of self-employment (19.6% on average in the EU-27)1;

A limited variety of occupations: drivers account for a very high share of

employment (reaching almost 70% of total employment in some EU

countries).2

In the EU-27 about 1,2 million workers are employed in urban public transport.

The majority (55%) of them are drivers. The number of employees of public

transport operators in the EU-27 decreased by just under 4% between 2000 and

2010, which corresponds to a loss of about 45,000 jobs. However, a closer look

at this development reveals that the number of employees started increasing

again in 2007, rising by about 3% between 2007 and 2010. The overall decrease

in employment in the period 2000-2010 is largely due to labour productivity

gains during the decade. It is plausible that part of the decrease in the number

of employees of operators is due to an increase in volumes of subcontracting 3.

Depending on policies to promote collective transport in agglomerations, cities

and rural areas employment opportunities of urban public transport are

potentially high, according to the EESC4.

Within land transport (rail, road) and transport via pipelines , the share of young

workers (15-24 years of age) is less than the EU overall average (see figure

3.2). The share of workers aged 24-49 equals approximately the EU overall share

of workers aged 25-49 and the share of workers aged 50 years or older exceeds

the EU overall share. Ageing seems to be an issue.

1 The proportion of self-employed drivers in the road transport sector varies significantly

between countries, ranging from as high as almost 100% in Malta to as low as 1% in

Luxembourg. See: Eurofound (2007). Impact of the working time directive on collective

bargaining in the road transport sector. 2 European Parliament (2009), Shortage of qualified personnel in road freight transport. 3 UITP (2013), Observatory of employment in public transport. Report 1 - April 2011. 4 EESC (2011), TEN/445. Social aspects of EU Transport Policy; European Parliament

(2009), Shortage of qualified personnel in road freight transport.

29

Figure 3.2 Age of employees in land transport1 (2010)

Source: Panteia, based on Eurostat LFS.

In land transport (rail, road) and transport via pipelines the share of male

workers largely exceeds the share of female workers. More than 80% of all

employees in water transport are male (see figure 3.3).

Figure 3.3 Gender of employees in land transport2 (2010)

Source: Panteia, based on Eurostat LFS.

Labour mobility

In urban public transport, labour turnover of drivers (i.e. the sum of drivers

entering and leaving the organisation during one year divided by the total

number of drivers at the beginning of the year) is about 12%. This relatively low

figure denotes the stability of the driver’s job 3.

1 subsector land transport (rail, road) and transport via pipelines 2 Ibid 3 UITP (2013), Observatory of employment in public transport. Report 1 - April 2011.

30

UITP points at language problems as a hindrance for international job mobility in

urban public transport.

Job requirements/job types

Increasingly specialist and segmented tasks

In road freight transport, there is a progressive restructuring of the driver’s role

due to the emergence of new forms and operations and logistics management.

As a result, drivers’ tasks have been widened and diversified. Drivers often have

to do work traditionally carried out by warehouse or stock personnel, and social

skills are now often required in the driver’s relationship with a client. The driver

is increasingly the client’s sole contact with the transport organisation.

Growing international transport means that drivers must be familiar with

different languages and cultures, and be skilled in communicating with different

kinds of people. In addition there have been indications from professional

organisations (TLN) that language requirements are particularly strong for

drivers at the loading and unloading stages of the delivery. In the case of a long

international trip, one driver can be hired for the international leg, whereas local

drivers will be hired to load and unload the trucks, thus avoiding the language

problem.

As early as in 2004, Eurofound concluded that technological developments such

as the introduction of the digital tachograph, satellite tracking devices (GPS) and

on-board computers, as well as the use of mobile telephones also asks for higher

skills for workers in the sector1.

These changes in job content have entailed new schemes in the organisation of

work, which are far more codified and standardised than ever. Therefore, drivers

must be better trained to perform the increasingly specialist and segmented

tasks in road freight transport2.

According to ETF, the modernised lorry requires higher level of proficiency. Also

the dignity of the driver has to be preserved. A professional driver is a highly

qualified individual who acts to defend the safety of both transport operations

and European citizens alike more dignified consideration. However, in some

Member States such as Hungary being a professional truck driver still is not

considered as a skilled job.

Prognoses labour demand 2010-2020

In the framework of this project an employment forecast for the period 2010-

2020 by broad transport subsector has been prepared. The model used

comprised 10 EU countries (called EU10 here): Poland, Germany, France, United

Kingdom, Italy, Spain, The Netherlands, Sweden, the Czech Republic, and

Slovenia. These countries have been chosen in view of data availability and being

representative for the transport sector in the EU27 as a whole. The model has

been designed from basic economic principles, i.e. by deriving factor demand

1 Eurofound (2004). EU road freight transport sector: Work and employment conditions. 2 European Parliament (2009), Shortage of qualified personnel in road freight transport.

31

from expected production – which is exogenous – and relative factor prices

assuming profit maximising behaviour by enterprises.

Table 3.2 gives a summary of the results of the forecast for production, labour

productivity and employment in EU10 for the transport sector as a whole and the

subsector land transport (rail, road) and transport via pipelines.

table 3.2 Summary results employment scenario 2010-2020 for EU10, transport

sector as a whole and subsector land transport and transport via pipelines

transportation and storage excl. postal and courier activities; NACE Rev. 2 49 -52

2010/'15 2015/'20 2010/'20

average annual change in %

real gross value added (f.c.) 1.2 1.3 1.2

labour productivity 1.4 1.3 1.3

total employment -0.1 -0.0 -0.1

land transport and transport via pipelines; NACE Rev. 2 49

2010/'15 2015/'20 2010/'20

average annual change in %

real gross value added (f.c.) 1.0 1.0 1.0

labour productivity 1.2 1.2 1.2

total employment -0.1 -0.2 -0.1

Source: Panteia

The expected decrease in employment in the subsector land transport (rail, road)

and transport via pipelines is comparable to the expected decrease in

employment in the transport sector as whole (in 2010-2020 annually -0.1%).

The 10 countries under review make up 73% of total employment in the EUR27

transport sector. Considering this, employment results for EU10 have been

inflated to EUR27 by applying EU10 occupational-specific growth rates to 2010

employment levels for EUR27 (see table 4.1 in section 4.1).

Overall, employment of transport-related occupations is expected to remain

constant over the next decade (in the period 2010-2020 annually 0.0%). The

picture for the three most important road transport related occupations – bus

and tram drivers, car, taxi and van drivers and heavy truck and lorry drivers1 - is

diffuse (-0.1%, +0.1% and -0,3%).

1 Besides these categories a.o. also freight handlers, motorcycle drivers and transport

conductors are of relevance for road transport.

32

3.2 Trends in supply

3.2.1 General trends in supply

As discussed in the main text of this report, the following trends hold for the EU

transport labour market as a whole:

Workforce EU transport: Total labour supply in transport-related

occupations amounts to 11.2 million persons in EU27 in 2010. On average,

two third has a job in the transport sector, others are working in other

sectors of industry or are unemployed.

Ageing and the gender issue: Ageing: The demographic pattern in

transport is worrying: within ten to fifteen years a substantial part of the

labour force will move into retirement. The gender issue: The transport

sector is largely male-dominated. Besides this male working culture, also the

less favourable job quality (employment and work quality) is a hindrance for

women to work in the sector.

Labour market reserves: Labour market reserves comprise amongst others

the following categories: unemployed, returners, potential employees

currently working in other sectors (horizontal inflow) and labour migrants. As

concerns labour migrants, apart from Eastern EU nationals working in

Western Europe, an important development is the increasing deployment of

3rd country nationals in the EU transport sector.

Prognoses labour supply 2020: To forecast the labour supply for

transport-related occupations in the period 2010-2020, two scenarios have

been used. Scenario 1 keeps the current rates by age and occupation

category constant. Scenario 2 assumes that for the 2010 cohorts

participation rates do not change except for the oldest group. In scenario 1,

total supply for transport-related labour decreases from 11.6 million persons

in 2010, to 11.5 million persons in 2020, this is an average decrease of 0.1%

annually. In scenario 2 the labour supply for transport-related occupations

increases from 11.5 million persons in 2010, to 13.2 million persons in 2020,

i.e. by 1.3% annually.

3.2.2 Specific supply trends in road transport

Workforce EU road transport

The workforce in road freight transport in Europe is characterised by amongst

others:

A limited presence of women and great gender imbalance (women account

for fewer than 14% on average in the total land transport sector).

A low educational level, particularly among drivers.

A large share of near-to-retirement workers1.

1 European Parliament (2009), Shortage of qualified personnel in road freight transport.

33

Ageing and the gender issue

Ageing of the labour force

In road freight transport, the ageing driver population and shrinking working age

population are reducing labour supply 1.

According to commission staff ageing of the road transport workforce and

absence of strong incentives for younger people to enter the road transport

labour market seems to be a problem.

Urban public transport is also confronted with the problem of an ageing

workforce.2 Because of the many people leaving the workforce due to their age,

recruitment is intensified. In this respect, UITP for instance points at RATP

(Régie Autonome des Transports Parisiens) which is putting a lot of effort in this

direction.

Gender issue

The demographic development affects many European economies so that the

recruitment and binding of a decreasing number of young potential personnel

becomes more and more important. It is common opinion that future needs of

personnel can be met better by increasing the number of female employees3.

The lack of corporate initiatives for work-life balance of employees is one of the

main barriers to women employment as well as cultural aspects such as a “male

working culture” 4 and existing gender stereotypes. Also missing political stra-

tegies to augment the share of female staff members has to be taken into

account as a reason. In a survey amongst women employed in urban public

transport, the topics “corporate culture” and “working culture” turned out to be

of high importance when addressing women employment. Diversity of and

tolerance towards different people and their individual background are often

assumed to have a positive impact on the company’s attractiveness for women5.

Labour market reserves

Migration is an issue in the road transport sector. The general trend is for

workers from the EU’s new Member States (NMS) to migrate to the original 15

EU Member States (EU15) to find work, although it appears that many of them

1 European Parliament (2009), Shortage of qualified personnel in road freight transport.

2 EESC (2011), TEN/445. Social aspects of EU Transport Policy. 3 ETF (2012), Project report: Women employment in urban transport sector. 4 A so called “male working culture” is often described as a corporate culture oriented on

male attributes and focused on men as a target group so that female employees feel that

they have to show more masculine than feminine characteristics, also in order to succeed

in their careers. It is generally said that women perceive the necessity to perform better

than men in order to be accepted in their job; this is also the case in the (public)

transport sector. 5 In addition, more practical barriers may exist. In the survey, the state of sanitary

facilities has been named as a huge problem in many cities and companies, the same

goes for the number and state of break rooms, dress rooms, lockers and canteens. These

facilities are often not existing or viewed as not satisfactory though highly demanded.

Regarding the working clothes, companies have made good experiences with providing

them to both genders. Availability of uniforms for both genders is important; uniforms are

important for an employee’s identification with a company. See: ETF (2012), Project

report: Women employment in urban transport sector.

34

return to their Member State of origin after a few years. Although legislation

exists which limits social policy regime competition, this development is causing

some concern in the EU15 countries in relation to potential effects on pay and

working conditions in the sector. However, as many of the EU15 countries are

experiencing labour shortages in the road transport sector, migrant workers are

filling these gaps. Conversely, some of the NMS are now experiencing their own

labour shortages due to their workers migrating to other countries to find work.

As a result, a small number of migrants from ‘third countries’ are moving to the

NMS to find work in the sector 1.

German road transport complains about Philippine drivers

The German road-transport organisation BGL recently filed a complaint at DG MOVE on price

dumping a by Latvian transport company with Philippine drivers. According to BGL, lately the

price dumping has increased more and more. DG MOVE is asked to take measures to safeguard

the level playing field on the road. BGL points at the requisite that the necessary driver’s

documents may only be delivered to drivers resident in one of the Member States and in the

possession of a driving licence issued by a Member State. The organisation also doubts whether

the Philippine drivers meet the European qualifications for the driver’s occupation.2 Commission

staff points out that driver attestations may only be issued if the driver is lawfully employed in

accordance with the conditions of employment and of vocational training laid out in the Member

State, including driving qualifications.

The most frequent complaints recently heard at DG MOVE concern the influx of

workers from third country drivers, although it is understood that the extent of

such cases is limited, and accusations that the current legislative framework

allows cases of social dumping. The Commission explicitly does not agree with

this term in itself, but agrees that issues may exist related to working conditions

in the road haulage sector. This is the most important topic at the moment.

IRU also points at the trend of job mobility from outside the EU, although there

is no quantitative evidence. Some IRU members are employing people from

Pakistan for instance. Within the EU, there is a problem with “new business

models” in which companies in old Member States establish daughter companies

in new Member States and employ their drivers. The problems related to social

conditions stem from arrangements that are usually perfectly legal (although

some may be not so legal). According to IRU, there is a need to address this to

restore the attractiveness of the road transport sector.

According to ETF, drivers from the Eastern EU Member States (such as Hungary)

often temporarily come to Western Europe (usually for up to six months).

Eastern EU truck drivers - working outside of their own country - are more

vulnerable basically due to the fact that they are employed via complicated

schemes including via fictitious (letter box) companies. These complex

employment practices allow companies to easily go in breach with the law and

with the drivers’ social and labour rights. Eastern EU truck drivers do not look at

c.q. don’t care about the long term implications of accepting work under these

1 Eurofound (2007). Impact of the working time directive on collective bargaining in the

road transport sector. 2 Nieuwsbladtransport.nl, (2013). Article ‘Duits wegvervoer klaagt over Filippijnse

chauffeurs’.

35

conditions. Since 2008, ETF has interviewed 1,000 Eastern EU drivers working in

Western Europe at parking areas of trucks. Some results:

The pressure for the truck drivers is very high. The employers have the

advantage that they can dispatch drivers to other Member States where they

practically work on-call. In effect, the drivers may end up waiting for days in

parking areas for work and they are only paid for the driving time. Weak

enforcement of the EU and national legal frames, as well as gaps in the

existing laws allow companies to circumvent the law while using these

practices

Moreover, the truck drivers can be paid in different ways. They receive a low

average basic wage from the company in their home country combined with

benefits calculated on basis of the distance driven (EUR 7 to EUR 10 for 100

km) or goods delivered.1 Another way of additional payment is with per-

diems.

The truck drivers spend at the parking areas much time waiting for a call to

work. This time is not paid. Loading and unloading the trucks is also not

covered by the wages despite the fact that by law loading / unloading is part

of the working time and must be remunerated.

Besides Eastern EU truck drivers, also 3rd country nationals (for instance from

the Philippines) are recruited to fill the gap. Companies try to find loopholes in

the law to arrange residence permits for this (cheaper) supply of labour. 2

Experience/view of individual road transport companies c.q. national representatives

“We estimate to have 650.000 to 700.00 drivers in the category of trucks over 7,5 tons in ou r

country. In 2012, we saw around 4.250 non-EU drivers in our country against 2.400 in 2008.

So, there is an upward trend, however the share of non-EU drivers relatively still is very small”.

“Our company has 16 drivers and 5 logistics specialists out of the EU. They are from Russia,

Belarussia and Ukraine. They work at the same zones as our Polish employees. We estimate to

have 3% non-EU workers in our company”

“At the moment, we have no non-EU workers active within our company but this will probably

change in the future. For example, at this moment we have Polish and Romanian employees.

However, attractiveness of our Dutch transport sector is depending on a country’s prosperity.

Maybe our country is becoming less attractive for those EU-workers and more attractive for

non-EU workers”.

Source: Enterprise survey by Panteia/PWC

1 Such allowances may be illegal under Regulation (EC) No 561/2006 if they are of a nature

to endanger road safety. 2 For example, a German company that hired over 100 drivers from the Philippines granted

to them Latvian residence permits since in Latvia it is easier to get a residence permit

than in Germany. According to Commission staff the number would be around 100 as the

figures heard are closer to a few hundred for all companies using this scheme. Another

example were Turkish drivers waiting in the port of Trieste (Italy) to get trailers from the

ferries (not sure whether the trailers were registered in Turkey or in Italy) and drive

them throughout the EU.

36

Prognoses labour supply 2020

In both scenarios the picture for road transport related occupations is diffuse. In

scenario 1, in the period 2010-2020 the average growth rate is annually -0.1%.

The percentages for the three most important road transport related occupations

- bus and tram drivers, car, taxi and van drivers and heavy truck and lorry

drivers – are +0.1%, 0.0% and -0.1%. In scenario 2, the average growth rate is

-0.8% and the percentages for bus and tram drivers, car, taxi and van drivers

and heavy truck and lorry drivers respectively -1.9%, -1.4% and -1.0% (see

table 4.1 in section 4.1).

37

4 Discrepancies EU road transport labour

market

The section describes discrepancies on the EU road transport labour market.

Successively, we go into quantitative discrepancies, qualitative discrepancies and

information asymmetries.

4.1 Quantitative discrepancies

4.1.1 General quantitative discrepancies

One can speak of quantitative discrepancies where there are not enough

sufficiently qualified school leavers or job seekers in (a subsector of) the

transport sector as a whole (labour shortage) or where there are not enough

vacancies to make use of the supply (labour surplus).

As discussed in the main text of this report, the following trends seem to hold for

the EU transport labour market as a whole:

Current labour shortages/surpluses: Many transport branches already

report serious structural labour shortages, in particular for mobile jobs. As a

result of the economic crisis, these shortages are temporarily mitigated.

Prognoses labour shortages/surpluses 2020: In view of the ageing

population in Europe and competition among transport branches and

companies to attract (young) workers, labour shortages will cause serious

problems for the transport sector in the future. Whereas the employment of

transport-related occupations is expected to remain constant over the next

decade, labour supply falls in both scenarios. The largest discrepancies are

expected for aircraft staff, ship’s deck officers and pilots, and travel

attendants and stewards. This is in particular cumbersome for the transport

sector’s development because most of these specific occupations’

employment is found in the transport sector itself (by way of comparison:

many drivers do not actually work in the transport sector).

4.1.2 Specific quantitative discrepancies road transport

Current labour shortages/surpluses

Road freight transport has been experiencing a progressive shortage of

professional drivers, which has emerged as one of the most critical issues

seriously affecting the competitiveness of the sector over the last ten years.

The shortage has progressively become structural across Europe, although its

impacts have not occurred simultaneously and with the same severity and

magnitude in all EU Member States.

A number of studies have sought to quantify the driver shortage problem, thus

further attesting to the fact that in recent years the European heavy truck

transport industry has been suffering from a serious structural shortage of skilled

professional drivers. According to Eurobarometer, over 70,000 professional

38

drivers were needed in 2008 in Europe, more or less in line with the results of

other studies.

At present the driver shortage problem is mitigated, due to the current economic

downturn and reduction in transport flows with a resulting overcapacity in the

sector, leading to a scenario where the problem of driver shortage no longer

ranks among the top priorities. However, stakeholders confirm that the shortage

of qualified drivers remains a problem even during the economic downturn 1. In

addition, the imbalance in supply and demand of drivers may be expected to

increase again as soon as the economy starts recovering2.

Especially in the EU12, the road transport is allegedly suffering from a constant

shortage of professional drivers, particularly truck drivers. Partly due to the

stronger growth in the EU12 countries, it is estimated that there will be a

shortage of drivers. This situation is being exacerbated by the fact that some

Eastern European drivers are moving to the Western Europe or other countries to

work. Moreover Eastern European companies compete with Western European

transport companies in international transport.

The implementation of the Working Time Directive has, in some cases, fuelled a

debate on the problem of the limited number of professional drivers. In general

the employers believe that the new working time limits will result in a severe

shortage of drivers and exacerbate existing workforce shortages in the sector.

According to the EESC, recruiting drivers is the biggest challenge the road

transport sector is facing. Partly, these difficulties are the result of the conditions

within which drivers and industry have to operate. On the other hand, operators

must cope in an environment dominated by fierce intra-sector competition and

influenced by external factors such as the economic crisis and high fuel prices 3.

The scope of the labour shortages in professional road transport (truck and

coach) at EU-level is not known in great detail, according to IRU, There are

estimates from individual markets, such as Germany, which lacks about 15,000

truck drivers and will lose around 250,000 drivers in the next 10 to 15 years due

to retirement and lack of new entrants4. The figures are lower in other countries,

but still in the thousands. It is quite likely that the figures are temporarily lower

due to the crisis.

Also according to ETF, the poor working conditions and working schedules and

hours lead to a shortage in the number of the truck drivers. On the other hand,

companies would look for drivers who are ready to accept the gradually lowering

working conditions and pay in the sector. This situation led to drivers from

Philippines being brought to work the EU.

1 See the Report of the High Level Group on the Development of the EU Road Haulage

Market (2012), which is amongst others based on stakeholder consultations. The ETF and

IRU confirmed that shortage of qualified drivers is a problem, and that the general

shortage will be more acute as economic recovery takes place. 2 European Parliament (2009), Shortage of qualified personnel in road freight transport. 3 EESC (2011). TEN/445. Social aspects of EU Transport Policy. 4 Institut für Nachhaltigkeit in Verkehr und Logistik (2012). ZF-Zukunftsstudie Fernfahrer.

Der Mensch im Transport- und Logistikmarkt,

39

Urban public transport is also facing recruitment problems.1 Figures on labour

shortages are not available however, said UITP.

According to ETF, urban public transport especially knows shortages for technical

jobs. Young people do not normally prefer technical education. Moreover, people

with technical education background prefer to work in other sectors (e.g.

telecommunications). Also, shortages are expected for operational staff. There

are no shortages (expected) for employees on managerial and HR positions.

Experience/view of individual road transport companies c.q. national representatives

“There are shortages, especially of professional drivers, with the emphasis on professional

(these are the drivers that are well trained and take their work serious). Shortages occur due to

the fact that drivers leave for work in other countries. Also, there is a great lack of preparing

young people for this profession in vocational educational institutes. In our country, cooperation

amongst between schools and companies has always been good; however, nowadays these ties

do not exist any longer. There also used to be a steady supply of drivers coming from the army

after accomplishing their compulsory military service. The conscription in our country, however,

has come to an end.

We are trying to reintroduce the ties between the road sector and the vocational educational

institutes, by trying to convince the ministry of transport (and the government as a whole). We

also are willing to supply skilled teachers and training materials. The ministry is, as of now,

taking action to reinstate the ties.

Another issue is the image of the sector. We are trying to increase awareness with the general

public and young people specifically of the road sector and the profession of driver”.

“At the moment, we have no problems to fulfil jobs. We don’t see any future problems of labour

shortages in our company; we expect that labour supply will be sufficient.

There is a difference in level between the eastern and the western part of the EU. We would like

to achieve the level of the western part of the EU. In order to achieve that, we have introduced

educational possibilities within the company; we give on the job training”.

“At the moment we have difficulties with finding good employees. It is not easy to find people

within our sector. In the future, we also expect a shortage of good employees. However, at the

moment we are looking for short-term solutions. Because of the crisis, it is not possible to

invest in long-term solutions.

To address the problem of shortages, our company provides an appropriate training for new,

Romanian drivers. We are an international oriented company and we have accordingly a lot of

drivers from different nationalities”.

Source: Enterprise survey by Panteia/PWC

1 EESC (2011). TEN/445. Social aspects of EU Transport Policy.

40

Prognoses labour shortages/surpluses 2020

The table below compares the employment scenario for transport-related

occupations in the transport sector with the supply of transport-related

occupations in the whole economy. The results for the most relevant road

transport related occupations are as follows:

Bus and tram drivers: decreasing employment in the period 2010-2020

annually -0.1%), increasing labour supply in scenario 1 (+0.1%) and

particularly in scenario 2 (+2.1)

Car, taxi and van drivers: increasing employment (+0.1%), stable supply in

scenario 1 (0.0%), but in scenario 2 increasing labour supply (1.3%)

Heavy truck and lorry drivers: decreasing employment (-0.3%), decreasing

labour supply in scenario 1 (-0.1%) but increasing supply in scenario 2

(1.1%).

Table 4.1 Transport-related labour: employment in transport and labour supply in

the whole economy, EU27, 2010 -2020

occupational category

2010 2020 2010 2020 2010 2020

supply, distribution and related managers 386 385 0.0 406 403 -0.1 406 455 1.1

air traffic controllers 27 31 1.3 28 28 -0.1 28 32 1.1

air traffic safety electronics technicians 13 15 1.7 40 39 -0.1 40 44 1.1

aircraft pilots and related associate professionals 39 46 1.7 50 50 -0.1 50 56 1.1

bus and tram drivers 968 961 -0.1 1,326 1,341 0.1 1,326 1,625 2.1

car, taxi and van drivers 1,180 1,193 0.1 2,155 2,158 0.0 2,155 2,448 1.3

crane, hoist and related plant operators 24 23 -0.1 441 438 -0.1 441 494 1.1

freight handlers 295 290 -0.2 1,657 1,610 -0.3 1,657 1,894 1.3

heavy truck and lorry drivers 1,942 1,882 -0.3 3,314 3,284 -0.1 3,314 3,679 1.1

lifting truck operators 175 174 -0.1 684 672 -0.2 684 793 1.5

locomotive engine drivers 272 292 0.7 687 683 -0.1 687 770 1.1

motorcycle drivers 58 57 -0.2 123 122 -0.1 123 138 1.1

railway brake, signal and switch operators 66 70 0.6 185 183 -0.1 185 207 1.1

ships' deck crews and related workers 43 45 0.4 50 50 -0.1 50 56 1.1

ships' deck officers and pilots 24 27 1.0 25 25 -0.1 25 29 1.1

ships' engineers 25 27 0.8 69 69 -0.1 69 78 1.1

transport conductors 174 186 0.7 183 182 -0.1 183 205 1.1

travel attendants and travel stewards 168 196 1.5 177 176 -0.1 177 198 1.1

total 5,879 5,899 0.0 11,601 11,514 -0.1 11,601 13,202 1.3

[1]

[2]

employment transport-related

occupations in transport, EU27

levels (1,000s)levels (1,000s)levels (1,000s)

supply of transport-related occupations, whole economy, EU27

scenario 2 [2]scenario 1[1]

constant age-specif ic participation rates

maximum age-specif ic/constant cohort-specif ic rates

annual change

2010/'20 (% p.a.)

annual change

2010/'20 (% p.a.)

annual change

2010/'20 (% p.a.)

Source: Panteia

4.2 Qualitative discrepancies

4.2.1 General qualitative discrepancies

Qualitative discrepancies occur where there is both sufficient supply of labour

and a sufficient number of vacancies, but where the demands and wishes of

employees and employers regarding level of qualification, content and

organisation of the work diverge.

As discussed in the main text of this report, the following trends hold for the EU

transport labour market as a whole:

Current skills shortages and deficiencies in training and career

opportunities: Training employees is required in order to meet up with

increasing requirements. Training opportunities for employees are limited

(especially for low-educated and old workers), but improving.

Job quality: Job quality contributes to the working image of a sector and/or

profession and by that to the possibilities to recruit and retain personnel. A

41

distinction can be made between employment and work quality. Employment

quality: Pay is relatively low in most transport professions and occupations.

Delocalisation of transport jobs and social dumping practices occur. To cut

costs, pension and early retirement schemes are being restructured. Working

times are often irregular and in particular mobile workers have to cope with

regular and (very) long absences from home. Possibilities for part-time work

are less than in other sectors. Work quality: Work autonomy in transport is

nowadays relatively low. Problems caused by heavy physical work have been

replaced by stress derived from time-pressures and efficiency improvements,

thereby shifting from physical to social or psychological problems. Transport

is with reason considered a dangerous activity (occurrence of accidents,

public violence, organised crime/piracy). Work intensity has increased (due

amongst others to increased traffic congestion and the use of ‘lean’

strategies or increasingly tight scheduled transport services).

Job attractiveness: The satisfaction of transport workers with working

conditions (2.88 on a 4-point scale) and their motivation to perform (3.42 on

a 5-point scale) are higher than their satisfaction with wage (2.97 on a 5-

point scale).

The three variables influencing satisfaction with working conditions the most

are: 1) job giving the feeling of work well done; 2) working hours fitting in

with family or social commitments; 3) feeling of possibly losing job.

The three variables influencing satisfaction with wage the most are: 1)

satisfaction with working conditions (another main indicator); 2) wage; 3)

job giving the feeling of work well done.

The three variables influencing motivation to perform the most are: 1) having

good friends at work; 2) satisfaction with working conditions (another main

indicator); 3) feeling of doing useful work.

Quality of life: In general, a strong relationship exists between job quality

and life satisfaction of workers.

Information on the human capital perspective and specifically prognoses skill

shortages 2020 are expected from Task 5.

4.2.2 Specific qualitative discrepancies road transport

Current skills shortages and deficiencies in training and career

opportunities

Skill shortages

Workers in road transport are generally not highly educated, although drivers of

dangerous substances have additional vocational training1. However,

technological innovation, globalisation, increased complexity of regulations and

additional tasks have implied a substantial transformation of jobs in the

transport sector, entailing new and more complex skills and training needs, and

thus producing a shortage of qualified personnel. The sector no longer allows for

the social advancement of a poorly skilled workforce. The sector has historically

developed by recruiting poorly educated people, but increasingly demanding

skills are requiring more and more task specialisation and segmentation. Thus,

1 Eurofound (2004). EU road freight transport sector: Work and employment conditions.

42

the observed shortage of drivers is not only a matter of scarcity of labour supply,

but, above all, of scarcity of a qualified, skilled and reliable workforce. Hence,

the shortage problem assumes the form of labour mismatch, where the

competences and skills required by firms do not tally (in general being higher)

with those offered by the workers1.

Commission staff points at the problem with transposing or recognising driving

licenses of the increasing group of third country drivers. Further requirements on

training need to be imposed and enforced.

Commission staff also points at the issue of skill shortages: as requirements of

drivers increase, skill shortages increase. A common approach is needed. A

project is planned on youth employment with elements of vocational training but

has not started yet

According to IRU, the skill shortages in road transport seem to stem also from

EU-legislation and technological advances. Together with enforcement picking

up, drivers are experiencing more complex professional demands.

Furthermore, there is a (personal) drive amongst people to get the highest

education as possible. However, the road transport sector is more in need of

people that received vocational training.

In urban public transport by rail ETF notes a tendency of de-skilling, i.e. the

process by which highly skilled labour is eliminated by the introduction of

technologies operated by lower skilled workers. For instance, experienced

locomotive drivers consider themselves very highly skilled while – mainly as a

result of automation - the current training standards of their jobs are lower than

in the past. This deskilling process asks for redefining jobs.

Deficiencies in training and career opportunities

Adjustments to the changes in the profession of driver described above, require

life-long training. The sector, however, does not seem to have developed a

training culture 2. At the moment, in several EU countries, training and learning

opportunities in road transport are lacking.

However, the situation appears to be changing. It is boosted by the trend that

transport oriented companies are switching to logistics-oriented and require a

higher customer service level. With increasing fuel prizes, insurance prizes and

extreme competition in road transport, employers have a vital interest to keep

expenses to an absolute minimum. Therefore increased training is being carried

out for low-fuel driving, efficient handling of goods as well as for health issues.

Also in urban public transport well qualified employees are the key for

entrepreneurial success. In this context, qualification needs to be updated for

example towards a need to know the changing customers’ att itudes in order to

react correspondingly. From the employees’ view, it is important to be able to

maintain employability and to be “fit” in the job they are doing. In most cases,

1 European Parliament (2009), Shortage of qualified personnel in road freight transport. 2 European Parliament (2009), Shortage of qualified personnel in road freight transport.

43

the employers finance the training; sometimes the drivers themselves have to

co-finance it. Only in a few cases, there is financial support by state or regional

authorities. Concerning driving staff, initial and other trainings are offered in

cooperation with an external training and development institute. In most

companies there is no distinction in training and vocational education between

men and women1.

ETF points at some bottlenecks in the training and career opportunities in the

urban public transport sector:

Firstly, the transposition of Directive 2012/36/EU, which sets the

requirements for bus drivers, is under question.

Secondly, there is a tendency to reduce the costs of urban public transport

by cutting the personnel costs. On way of cutting personnel costs is cutting

training costs. The costs of training in urban public transport are higher than

in railway transport.

Thirdly, there are differences between countries in who is required to pay for

the training. In Eastern EU for instance, bus drivers are required to pay the

training themselves.

Experience/view of individual road transport companies c.q. national representatives

“We see an important role for life long learning to keep workers’ skills up in the ever changing

environment of road transport.

In the current training and education programmes there is room for improvement: 1) A greater

need for theoretical and practical training of students (of course we have the special limiti ng

factor of the age limit: pupils only get to gain practical experience when they are old enough to

drive); 2) A need to increase efforts to comply with the EU regulation regarding periodical

training, or life long learning; 3) Higher education is important for training logisticians and

higher management in road transport companies. Universities offer 1 or 2 year training

programmes for such people and we are included in the development of these programmes and

degrees and offer practical experience to students in our organisation”.

“We offer two types of training: external led by the specialists in different matters and internal

by our own managers. Innovation is part of our training. Our training programmes are sufficient

to acquire the desired skills necessary to function within the job: we provide a very intensive

training for everyone in the company. There is no need to improve or change our training

programmes, however it is important to repeat the training systematically”.

“Our training is sufficient to acquire the desired skills necessary to function within the job.

There are plenty of technical innovations possible, but because of the economic crisis, it is not

the right time to apply them in (the training in) our company and sector”.

Source: Enterprise survey by Panteia/PWC

1 ETF (2012), Project report: Women employment in urban transport sector.

44

Job quality (excluding training and career opportunities)

General

The profession of driver is principally suffering from a steady decline in

attractiveness, due to both the physical environment and the social conditions in

which drivers work; this has a direct impact on new entries and on the retention

of current workers.1

Road freight is quite unfavourable in terms of ambient and ergonomic conditions,

number of nonstandard working hours, long hours, heavy job demands, lack of

job control, limited space for skill development, monotony of work and the

occurrence of violence, aggression and crime2.

According to the EESC, one can not ignore the fact that the difficulties in

recruiting drivers are partly the result of the conditions within which drivers and

industry have to operate. From the drivers' perspective, high work pressure,

unfriendly working hours and below-average remuneration make road transport a

sector with a poor social record3.

If the living and working conditions of international drivers remain as they are, it

will be difficult for the industry to attract the numbers of professional drivers

needed in order to keep pace with the growing demand for trade via road

transport. Without an influx of young men and women into the industry, the

sustainability of the sector is in question4.

According to ETF, payment and working conditions in urban public transport are

less favourable.

Experience/view of individual road transport companies c.q. national representatives

“I don’t think the transport sector has worse working conditions than for example an assembly

line in the (metal) industry. On the contrary, trucks manufacturers take care of the cabin to be

as much comfortable as possible. When purchasing new trucks, our best drivers make test-

drives and provide their feedback. In our business, where we often pass the EU border, the lines

on the border are the most difficult moments for our drivers. You should not say that transport

within EU, with the infrastructure, parking places and stations for drivers has got bad

conditions. Of course, there are always things to improve”.

“Work-life balance expectations are becoming more important. Nowadays, our people want to

spend more time with their families. Therefore they mainly want to drive limited distances. The

driving times legislation will help our employees, but also creates different kind of problems.

Partly due to the long rest times, our jobs are becoming unattractive for good employees”.

Source: Enterprise survey by Panteia/PWC

Employment quality: Remuneration and benefits

1 European Parliament (2009), Shortage of qualified personnel in road freight transport. 2 Eurofound (2004), EU road freight transport sector: work and employment conditions.

3 EESC (2011), TEN/445. Social aspects of EU Transport Policy. 4 ILO (2006), Labour and social issues arising from problems of cross-border mobility of

international drivers in the road transport sector, p.87.

45

Payment and benefits are seen as a key factor for the attraction of high quality

employees to the road (freight) transport sector. Although fair employment

practices, equal opportunities and linking rewards to quality improvements are

still necessary as well1.

Table 4.2 shows the average wage per employee in 2009, for four broader

transport sectors compared to the total business economy (excl. financial and

insurance activities) in the EU 27 (based on EUROSTAT’s Structural Business

Statistics – SBS).

Table 4.2 Average wage per employee by broader transport sector in the EU 27,

2009 (in Euro's)

Country Total

business

economy

except

financial

and

insurance

activities

Land

transport

and

transport via

pipelines

Water

transport

Air

transport

Warehousing

and support

activities for

transportation

European

Union (27

countries)

23.666 21.351 n/a 49.503 27.992

Source: SBS (Eurostat)

Compared to the total business economy (excl. financial and insurance activities)

average wage per employee in the sector land transport and transport via

pipelines is lower (€23.666 against €21.351).

Even though remuneration is not within the remit of the EU, the Commission can

establish minimum rules for working conditions, which in the view of commission

staff has its impact indirectly on remuneration and leads to more comparable

wages.

According to IRU, in the current situation - with increasing pressure on cost-

cutting - improvements in attractiveness in terms of remuneration cannot be

expected.

In the view of UITP, in urban public transport competition between companies

based on salaries of employees is rare, although there might be some cases.

Also, as a result of the crises, some decreases of salaries have been noted.

Obligatory rests and delays at borders influence income

Drivers must work without fear of assault while taking their obligatory rest

alongside the road and companies must be able to remain compliant with driving

and rest time rules through the provision of sufficient secure parking and rest

1 European Commission (2000), WORKFRET.

46

facilities guaranteeing the protection of drivers, passengers and goods1.

According to commission staff, the principal discussion in the social dialogue in

this respect is whether employers must provide for such safe rest facilities. The

workers’ side has achieved some marked success, but ongoing discussion

remains on who (employers or employees) must pay for the use of these

facilities. Several EU-funded projects (LABEL2, SETPOS3) have been carried out to

support the setting up of such facilities whereas a new legislative proposal aims

at facilitating access to information regarding safe and secure parking spaces for

heavy duty vehicles4.

Besides obligatory rests, extended delays at the border impact on drivers’

incomes. Many are paid a flat rate for delivery, regardless of the time it takes.

Therefore, an extended delay cuts into their ability to make their delivery in a

timely manner, thus preventing them taking on more work and earning more5.

Any attempt to remove obstacles to facilitate cross-border trade must be

accompanied by large-scale trade and transport facilitation measures and must

take into consideration the issue of national security:

Multilateral and bilateral agreements should strive to make crossing borders

more efficient, while maintaining a rational balance between facilitation and

security requirements.

New technologies and good practices used in some areas provide examples of

how improvements can be made6.

Equal pay?

Concerning the concept of equal pay, it was said that, within the urban public

transport sector – at least within the same tariff payment groups – the principle

“same wage for same work” is valid. However, there is little information on the

growth opportunities for women in transport companies7.

Employment quality: Job flexibility (working hours, working time arrangement,

time flexibility)

Working times

The distinct shortage of drivers in Western Europe is mainly caused by the long

hours away from home, the unpredictable schedules, and the reduced

possibilities to work extra hours. The complexity of tasks and responsibilities, as

well are not compensated sufficiently by the pay. There is thus a migration of

1 IRU (2010), IRU response to the EC Transport White Paper. 2 Creating a Label for (Secured) Truck Parking Areas along the Trans-European Road

Network and Defining a Certification Process. Including Online Information Facility

(LABEL), Co-funded by DG MOVE. 3 Secure European Truck Parking Operational Services (SETPOS), co-funded by DG TREN. 4 C(2013) 2549 final. COMMISSION DELEGATED REGULATION (EU) No …/.. of 15.5.2013

supplementing ITS Directive 2010/40/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council

with regard to the provision of information services for safe and secure parking places for

trucks and commercial vehicles. 5 ILO (2006), Labour and social issues arising from problems of cross-border mobility of

international drivers in the road transport sector, p.53. 6 ILO (2006), Labour and social issues arising from problems of cross-border mobility of

international drivers in the road transport sector. 7 ETF (2012), Project report: women employment in urban transport sector.

47

Eastern workers to the West, willing to do the same jobs for less money than

their Western counterparts1.

In addition to harmonising procedures, working time legislation and enforcement

need to be synchronised. Directive 2006/22/EC sets down minimum enforcement

requirements for Member States, the implementation of which are documented

by the Commission in biannual reports. Although many countries have adequate

laws concerning working time and periods of rest, their enforcement is relatively

weak although it is improving. This is a very serious issue as regulations on

drivers’ hours, including periods of rest, are often ignored. It is acknowledged

that better enforcement can help to reduce accidents. The competitive edge for

transport companies should not be gained by poor working standards, but by the

skill and efficiency of their service.

In the view of ETF, the many shifts at night and/or during weekends make the

sector unattractive for (young) people.

Time flexibility

For an increase in female employment, more working time flexibility appears to

be crucial. Working life balances are becoming more important issues for

workers, also on the EU agenda. From an employer’s point of view, flexibility of

working hours has a number of benefits such as binding employees to the

company to increase job tenure. There are also desirable implications:

improvement of employees’ morale and attitude, leading to reduced absenteeism

and staff turnover, which leads to increased effectiveness of recruitment and

productivity. Individual duty schedules have been discussed as one aspect of

working time flexibility for increasing employees’ work-life balance, thus job

motivation and satisfaction2.

Employment quality: Job security

Transport relies on a workforce that employers can deploy flexibly and with the

necessary skills - acquired through a new training culture to manage increasingly

complex legal, operational and safety-related requirements. This is only possible

with a well-balanced regulatory framework, sufficient to protect employees but

not so inflexible as to make the industry less attractive to drivers or companies

less able to offer jobs.

The whole regulatory and non-regulatory framework must deal effectively with

illegal employment and offer fair competition for all within a single European

Transport Area3.

Another phenomenon is false self-employment. This means that a former

employee of a company is starting his/her own company only to be contracted

for services by a single employer, and thus relieving the employer from social

legislation, leaving all risks with the driver.

1 CNT (2008), Les transportes: des metiérs attractifs? 2 ETF (2012), Project report: Women employment in urban transport sector. 3 IRU (2010), IRU response to the EC Transport White Paper.

48

Concerns have been raised about the road transport sector’s informal economy in

some countries, along with worries regarding illegal working. For example, in

Austria, concerns have increased in this respect following enlargement of the EU.

Similar concerns have arisen in Bulgaria, where a considerable number of self-

employed drivers are reportedly operating, some of whom work in the informal

economy, thus creating unfair competition in the sector1. According to

commission staff, illegal employment also negatively influences the (working)

image of the sector.

Work quality: Work autonomy

Low work autonomy

Work autonomy is obviously lower than the national average in most EU

countries. The degree of control that workers exercise over their work is limited

in road transport. However, being on the road generally gives drivers a certain

feeling of freedom.

Specific technological developments such as the introduction of the digital

tachograph, satellite tracking devices (GPS) and on-board computers, as well as

the use of mobile telephones result in higher levels of control, and thus even

more restricted work autonomy and less feeling of freedom2.

Work quality: Physical working conditions, health variables and risks of accidents

Health and safety

As a study of EU-OSHA3 shows, accidents and injuries to road transport drivers

remain high. This study classifies (the causes of) accidents to road transport

drivers as follows:

Occupational transport accidents on the road (Unsafe driving; Overload and

other cargo problems; Road conditions/ weather conditions; Vehicle

condition; Loss of control)

Occupational transport accidents on site (Coupling and uncoupling, unsafe

parking; Loading and unloading; Vehicle maintenance)

Partly, occupational transport accidents are related to psychological factors

(Stress and workload; Fatigue; Alcohol and drug abuse; Illness; Violence).

In the public transport sector, next to flexibility of working time (women)

workers see health and safety at the workplace as an important issue. The

condition of vehicles is very important for driving staff. The quality of

infrastructure and vehicles however varies not only from country to country but

often enough from company to company4.

Taxi drivers and chauffeurs are exposed to a number of different types of work-

related risks:

1 Eurofound (2007). Impact of the working time directive on collective bargaining in the

road transport sector. 2 Eurofound (2004). EU road freight transport sector: Work and employment conditions. 3 EU-OSHA (2010), A review of accidents and injuries to road transport drivers. 4 ETF (2012), Project report: Women employment in urban transport sector.

49

Physical risks: vibrations, manual handling of loads, risks linked with a long

sitting position, risks linked with being on the road.

Chemical and biological risks: exhaust fumes and other pollutants.

Psychosocial risks: stress and violence.

Individual behaviour: smoking, consumption of stimulants (coffee and

alcohol), lack of physical exercise (sedentary jobs) and low seatbelt usage.

Confrontation with public violence/aggression

There is an image of the public transport sector (including taxi) as an unsafe

workplace because of violence against employees. Violence cases have a

negative influence on the companies’ image and on the image of the entire

sector. This issue increases when cases are reported and widely spread in media.

Companies take the topic indeed very seriously: activities to increase both

workplace safety and security have high priority. As a consequence,

counteractive measures have been taken such as self-defence classes for women

or de-escalation training for employees.

Furthermore, technical solutions to prevent violence against drivers are

introduced such as emergency buttons or closed cabins in vehicles and private or

business mobile phones for employees1.

Organised crime

As mentioned earlier, drivers in road transport are increasingly confronted with

organised crime.

Work quality: Psychosocial risk factors

Few contacts

Social interaction and social support also play an important role in work quality.

A high percentage of drivers in freight and passenger transport by road work in

isolation. They have few contacts with their colleagues and supervisors.

Work quality: Intensity of work

Increasing work intensity

Work intensity has increased due to increased traffic congestion and the use of

‘lean’ strategies such as just-in-time.

Job attractiveness

The attractiveness of jobs in the road transport sector depends strongly on the

quality of the jobs in this sector. As described above, job quality is a

multidimensional concept that covers many different aspects, varying from

wages, formal training and (flexibility in) working hours to health implications of

work, work autonomy and the meaningfulness of work.

The European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS) contains indicators of aspects

of job quality/job attractiveness. The table below compares the four broader

transport modes to the total of all sectors.

1 ETF (2012), Project report: Women employment in urban transport sector.

50

Table 4.3 Employees’ experience/perception of aspects of job quality/attractiveness by

broader transport mode, compared to the total of all sectors (2010, EU27)

Land Water Air Warehousing

and support

activities

- Changes of work schedule (no) - o - o

Involvement in work organisation/processes

(always)

- + - -

Employee representation (yes) + + + +

Raising issues with employee representative (yes) + + + +

On-the-job training (yes) - + + +

More secure jobs because of training (yes) o n.s. n.s. +

Better employment prospects because of training

(yes)

- + + +

Solving unforeseen problems on one’s own (yes) + + + -

Exposure to vibrations form machinery etc (never) - - - -

Exposure to loud noise (never) - - - -

Exposure to breathing in vapours (never) + - + +

Involvement of tiring or painful positions (never) - + + o

Involvement of repetitive hand/arm movements

(never)

- + - -

Health or safety at risk because of work (no) - - - -

Health affected by work (no) - - - -

Short repetitive tasks (no) - + - +

Ability to choose/change speed/rate work (yes) - - - -

Feeling of doing useful work (always) - o + -

Emotionally involved in work (always) - - - -

+ = above average; o = average; - = below average

n.s. = not significant

Source: EWCS 2010

The (EWCS) also contains the following indicators of overall job quality/job

attractiveness:

Satisfaction with working conditions (how satisfied respondents are with

working conditions in their main paid job; measured on a 4-point scale).

Satisfaction with wage (the extent to which respondents find they are wel l

paid for the work they do; measured on a 5-point scale).

Motivation to perform (the extent to which respondents feel motivated by

their organisation to give their best job performance; measured on a 5-point

scale).

51

Table 4.4 Indicators of overall job quality/job satisfaction by broader transport sector

(2010, EU27)

Satisfaction with working conditions (4 point scale)

Satisfaction with wage (5 point scale)

Motivation to perform (5 point scale)

Transport sector Mean St.dev. Mean St.dev. Mean St.dev.

Land transport and transport via pipelines

2.89 0.72 2.91 1.12 3.38 1.09

Water transport 3.14 0.75 3.74 1.09 3.72 1.1

Air transport 3.18 0.66 3.4 1.18 3.87 0.91 Warehousing and support activities for transportation

3.01 0.66 3.22 1.26 3.43 1.16

Total transport sector 2.94 0.72 3 1.15 3.44 1.09

Source: EWCS 2010 (Eurofound)

The satisfaction with working conditions of employees in the transport sector as

a whole and their motivation to perform are higher than their satisfaction with

wage. This also goes for employees in land transport and transport via pipelines.

On all three indicators, employees in land transport and transport via pipelines

score lower than the total group of transport employees.

No specific findings on the topic “meaningfulness of work” as part of the topic

work quality

4.3 Information asymmetries

4.3.1 General information asymmetries

In the case of labour market information asymmetries, the demand and supply

should actually be balanced, but employers and job seekers are unable to find to

one another due to job search and recruitment strategies that do not respond to

each other. This may also be induced by flawed images of the (sub)sector or of

(groups of) job seekers (or groups thereof) which prevent a better match of

supply and demand.

As discussed in the main text of this report, the following trends hold for the EU

transport labour market as a whole:

Working image: In general, the working image of the transport sector is

relatively low, mostly related to job quality (employment- and work quality).

The sector is also seen as male-dominated and old-fashioned and

conservative. It is argued by some that the negative image is a matter of

perception and/or lack of knowledge.

Recruitment: Many modes still use traditional types of recruitment. In

general, in recruitment the transport sector does not focus on specific target

groups, such as women.

52

4.3.2 Specific information asymmetries road transport

Working image

The profession of driver is suffering from poor public (working) image. The

driving profession remains associated with poor working conditions, low wages

and a problematic work-life balance, particularly for international drivers 1. The

road transport sector also has the image of being rather old-fashioned and

conservative. Therefore, companies are often not present in the applicants’

minds as potential employer. Moreover, many of the sectors’ existing professions

are unknown to young people2. This less positive image has a direct negative

impact on attracting new entries (and on the retention of current workers)3.

Commission staff points at the current discussion of the social partners on the

image of the sector in relation to illegal employment. Illegal employment has

negative effects on how the sector is perceived and affects overall working

conditions.

ETF also points at the negative image of the profession of driver. The road

transport sector is not considered attractive for the young people. Generally,

truck driver is not considered as a dignified job.

According to UITP, companies are reporting difficulties in recruitment due to the

limited willingness to work in urban public transport. The image of the sector has

to be improved.

Also according to ETF, the working image of the urban public transport sector is

poor.

Experience/view of individual road transport companies c.q. national representatives

“We are trying to increase awareness with the general public and young people specifically of

the road sector and the profession of driver. The image is quite negative at the moment as the

idea exists that drivers cause a lot of accidents and are not as disciplined and well mannered.

But we stress the importance of professional drivers and we actively support the creation of a

central registration of drivers in Europe. The (working) image of the sector has to be improved,

together with governments, the Commission, training institutes, companies and workers.”.

“We recognise the negative image of our sector presented by public media. The sector used to

have an adventurous image with a lot of freedom, but nowadays we are dealing with an image

of sleeping drivers, hard work and less freedom. In addition, trade unions are fighting hard for

specific rights. Not always to the benefit of the transport sector”.

Source: Enterprise survey by Panteia/PWC

1 Eurofound (2004). EU road freight transport sector: Work and employment conditions. 2 ETF (2012), Project report: Women employment in urban transport sector. 3 European Parliament (2009), Shortage of qualified personnel in road freight transport.

53

Comparability/compatibility

As the labour market is becoming more and more international, it becomes a

problem if qualifications used in various countries are difficult to compare.

Recruitment

Shift to recruitment of higher educated workers

The new manner in which drivers in road transport are to be recruited is at odds

with how the sector used to recruit workers, namely by employing poorly skilled

workers. Drivers are required to be better educated and skilled in the newest

logistics operations1. This also asks for other ways of recruitment.

Lack of targeting recruitment to specific groups

A survey regarding road transport company employers indicate that most

employers do not make distinctions between the instruments for recruiting

women or men. In addition, most of the instruments are used for all job levels

and professions. Only a small amount of companies specially addresses

executives or other special target groups. Female employees, who are already

employed, can be multipliers to recruit new female colleagues. For many

companies, it is still an important source of recruitment, if a family member

already works for the company. Also, younger women are a considerable poten-

tial for recruiting female working force2.

1 European Parliament (2009), Shortage of qualified personnel in road freight transport. 2 ETF (2012), Project report: Women employment in urban transport sector.

55

5 Reduction of discrepancies EU road

transport labour market

5.1 General solutions to discrepancies

Theoretically, the following strategies for reducing discrepancies on the transport

labour market can be distinguished:

1 More general solutions influencing the context of the (transport) labour

market

2 Promoting inflow:

A. Targeting labour reserves in order to attract new employees to the

sector including the recruitment of the unemployed and other groups

currently not working in the transport sector, existing immigrant groups

and labour migrants.

B. Stimulating and facilitating education for potential employees

among others the creation of new specific learning paths, of campaigns

stimulating people to choose for an educational and occupational path in

the sector and of an institutional improvement of the connection between

labour market and education in general.

3 Preventing outflow/ diminishing labour demand:

A. Improving the situation of current employees in order to optimise

their potential as well as prevent them from leaving the sector for instance

by the introduction of (re)training programs, professionalising the sector

and providing more career perspectives for existing employees and

improving the working conditions.

B. Improving the operational management/ labour productivity of

organisations for example through the use of new technologies, treatment

methods etc. and/or (innovative) changes in functions and organisation.

As discussed in the main text of this report, solutions in all of these categories

are relevant for the EU transport labour market as a whole.

5.2 Specific solutions to discrepancies road transport

General solutions influencing the context

Political and legal

EU policies, programs and regulations

To fully exploit the Internal Market and to contribute to the wider policy

objectives of sustainable transport in terms of road safety, fair competition and

good working conditions of mobile road transport workers, it is crucial to ensure

a largely harmonised set of transparent social, security and competition

standards (social code) in road transport evenly applicable throughout Member

States.

56

Recommendations of the EESC concerning EU legislation are amongst others:

EU road transport legislation is to be applied without exceptions throughout

the sector, ensuring a level playing field for fair competition, road safety and

occupational health and safety.

A better capacity in Member States is needed to enforce EU road transport

legislation 1.

The High Level Group on the Development of the EU Road Haulage Market (2012)

recommended that the Commission continues to promote a uniform

interpretation of rules in relation to the most serious infringements and

sanctions. This will assist greatly in breaking down differential practices which

are frequently perceived as discrimination. The High Level Group considers it

important, therefore, that the Commission extend its current target of achieving

common definitions of infringements and penalties in the areas of working and

driving time to other areas of regulation.

Although opening up of cabotage is seen as one of the means through which the

vision of a Single European Transport Area will eventually be achieved it is not

regarded by the High Level Group as suitable for this purpose in its present form.

It is currently tied to international transport operations on the basis that it is a

means by which a reduction in empty running can be achieved, but this is done

in such a manner as to limit its efficiency both with respect to reducing empty

running in relation to international operations and as a vehicle to open up

markets. The High Level Group therefore proposes that these twin aims be

separated and that a distinction be made between linked (i.e. linked to

international movements) and non-linked cabotage.

According to commission staff, at EU-level there is a focus on the transnational

dimension, also in terms of employment and working conditions. The principle of

subsidiarity should be taken into account in the policy and law making process at

EU-level on urban transport topics however.

In the view of UITP, the EU could play a role in the development of an integrated

mobility master plan with a key role for urban public transport. Labour and social

issues should however be dealt with on local level. Quality of work could be

encouraged through the calls for tender and contracts with the transport service

providers. Also, according to UITP it would be an option to give public transport

access to Structural Funds.

Social dialogue

At the time of writing, the Social Dialogue in the road transport sector at

European level had not concluded any binding agreements. In the future it could

therefore further contribute to strengthening the social dimension of the EU

transport policy, with respect to improving working conditions and the working

environment to protect workers' health and safety.

1 EESC (2011), TEN/445. Social aspects of EU Transport Policy.

57

Technological and environmental

According the EESC, EU policy makers should undertake measures that lead to

true sustainability in the sector by offering incentives for operators to invest in

new fleets and technology 1.

Other

According to commission staff, it is important to exchange good practices. In

practice, in urban public transport such exchanges already take place, for

instance on security and insecurity issues (secure cabins in trains or open space

for interactions). Committees facilitate the exchange.

In the view of UITP, the EU could play a role in providing adequate information

on the labour market (shortages) in urban public transport. At the moment, no

figures on shortages are available.

5.3 Promoting inflow

A. Targeting labour reserves

Considering the relatively low-skilled nature of road transport sector jobs the

potential labour reserves are large. As many drivers work in industries outside

transport and others left the transport sector before, a large number of skilled

drivers can be seen as labour reserve as well. In road transport some studies

show that there seems to be a high number of drivers with the appropriate

qualifications who are no longer active in the profession. This would indicate that

truck driving is an activity which is pursued on a temporary basis, long enough

to make some money or travel for instance, before moving on to other more

attractive professions. 2

The low perceived attractiveness of the profession of truck or bus driver is a

barrier to attract potential employees. Increasing female employment is a

possibility, especially on regional and national transport. Personal safety issues

pose a barrier for female employment in long-distance transport.

Women’s participation should be increased by promoting gender-oriented

measures and by increasing road safety and rest facilities and reducing gender

discrimination.3

1 EESC (2011), TEN/445. Social aspects of EU Transport Policy. 2 See for instance: Skills for Logistics (2012). A Looming Driver Shortage? – the evidence

behind the concerns. 3 European Parliament (2009), Shortage of qualified personnel in road freight transport.

58

Especially relevant in this respect, is the project Women Employment in Urban

Public Transport Sector (WISE, see box below)

Women Employment in Urban Public Transport Sector (WISE)

The European social partners of the Urban Public Sector - UITP (International Association of

Public Transport) and ETF (European Transport Workers' Federation) - and the Akademie of

Verband Deutscher Verkehrsunternehmen (VDV-Akademie) ran the WISE project1 from

December 2010 until March 2012. The project was part of the work programme of the European

Social Dialogue and was co-funded by the European Commission.

All activities realised in the project had the aim to contribute to a better representation and

integration of women in a traditionally male-dominated sector such as the urban public

transport.

The project WISE focused on:

Better access of women to all public transport professions, including the technical ones and

management functions;

Better workplace safety and security, to allow women opt for all work shifts;

Equal access to training;

Better workplace culture to accommodate the needs of both women and men;

Better work-life balance for both, men and women;

Thorough implementation of relevant EU equal opportunities’ legislation in the transport

sector.

It resulted in:

Recommendations signed by the Social Partners in the urban public transport sector

regarding women em­ployment,

An Action Guideline “Women in Transport Professions” for decision-makers in companies,

trade unions and employer associations, containing the results of the project (and

information on good practice examples from several companies,

A conference on the topic of women employment strategy in public transport sector and to

set-up a European network “Women in Transport Professions (aimed at exchange of

experience of the single social partners in the various member states, learning from the

best and harmonisation within the European Union). 2

B. Stimulating and facilitating education for potential employees

Improving the image of (study and) work in the sector

The image of the sector should be improved by promoting campaigns on the key

role played by the transport sector in the economy, as well as providing

information on employment prospects to schools, employment services and the

media 3.

The EESC recommends measures to make the profession of driver highly skilled,

which will automatically lead to improving the image of the profession 4.

1 http://www.wise-project.net 2 Project WISE (2012). Women Employment in Urban Public Transport Sector. Project

Report. 3 European Parliament (2009), Shortage of qualified personnel in road freight transport;

ETF (2012), Project report: Women employment in urban transport sector .

4 EESC (2011), TEN/445. Social aspects of EU Transport Policy.

59

Regarding the driver shortage the High Level Group on the Development of the

EU Road Haulage Market (2012) is of the opinion that access to the position of

driver should be made easier. The current cost of qualifications is a substantial

entry barrier and there must be adequate support, of the side of both industry

and public bodies, in both financial terms and training opportunities for those

intent on entering the profession. 1

According to commission staff, in order to be effective campaigns have to sketch

a honest, realistic picture of (work in) the transport sector. If campaigns aimed

at attracting people to work in the road transport sector present a very positive

picture, they might attract a lot of people. However, if the reality is portrayed in

a too favourable light, a lot of entrants in the sector will become disillusioned

and drop out.

In the view of UITP, the main challenge of urban public transport is to position

itself as the key to truly sustainable cities and green growth, which also means

social inclusion. UITP’s ambition is to double it market share in cities world-wide

by 2025. The ambition to double the market share requires a significant

recruitment imperative, which needs to be facilitated by an improved image of

the sector. The EU could facilitate this by ‘creating an appetite for public

transport instead of encouraging electric cars’.

Initial VET/ VET standards

The sector needs to tackle the variable levels of training and qualifications from

one Member State to another in an effort to ensure greater mobility and

employment2. Directive 2003/59 was meant to do that at least for bus and truck

drivers. There is no hard evidence whether this objective has been achieved.

Skills and qualifications in the sector should be improved by:

Facilitating the attainment of professional and specific driving competences,

Strengthening the link between the educational system and the labour

market (e.g. creating ad hoc professional and lifelong training programmes;

increasing the awareness among young students of occupational and

professional career prospects; improving job matching exploiting the

renewed role of public/private employment services; introducing and/or

stimulating the use of apprenticeship contracts) 3.

1 High Level Group on the Development of the EU Road Haulage Market (2012). Report of

the High Level Group on the Development of the EU Road Haulage Market. 2 European Parliament (2009), Shortage of qualified personnel in road freight transport. 3 European Parliament (2009), Shortage of qualified personnel in road freight transport.

60

5.4 Preventing outflow/diminishing labour demand

a. Improving the situation of current employees

General

The attractiveness of the profession and working conditions should be improved

by increasing the number of, and enhancing the comfort and security of, truck

parking areas, harmonising regulations and penalties across EU countries, and

increasing the integration between employers’ and employees’ needs and

objectives1.

A social code should be specifically addressed to mobile workers and employers

to make them liable or co-liable – as appropriate – for compliance with common

minimum working standards. It should cover such issues as: terms and

conditions of employment, health insurance and care, a better organisation of

work and resting periods of drivers to enable the reconciliation of their work and

family life, as well as gender equality. The social code should also address the

problem of disguised self-employment, which creates legal uncertainty and

vulnerability of certain groups of workers not covered by any social protection

rules. Member States, with participation of social partners, shall be encouraged

to exchange practices and experiences on how to identify and counter disguised.

The drafting of such a Social Code by the sectoral social partners was

recommended by the Commission in its 2011 White Paper on Transport, although

the social partners (IRU and ETF) have not chosen to open discussions.

General recommendations of EESC concerning the situation of employees of

urban public transport are:

Good working conditions, a better work-life balance and career opportunities

are elements which will attract women and young people to the urban public

transport sector.

Besides financing, a major challenge for public transport is providing good

quality services. The relation between quality at work (good working

conditions) and quality of services is a subject of the sectoral European

Social Dialogue 2.

Training and career opportunities

Only through professional training can the road transport sector continue to

adapt and evolve. An important, successful initiative in this respect is the joint

social partner project STARTS by IRU and ETF, which was co-funded by DG

MOVE. The STARTS-project is a good example of an initiative to improve the

image of the profession and level of professionalism and to influence the salary

level. Furthermore, the IRU Academy has to be mentioned in this respect (see

box below).

1 European Parliament (2009), Shortage of qualified personnel in road freight transport. 2 EESC (2011), TEN/445. Social aspects of EU Transport Policy.

61

STARTS

IRU has teamed up with the ETF on the "Skills, Training And the Road Transport Sector –

STARTS" project on training in the commercial road transport sector, covering both mobile and

non mobile employees of road transport companies. The purpose of this project is to correctly

identify the most important challenges and the most efficacious solutions for improving the

provision of training to drivers and workers performing certain non mobile, logistics related

tasks. In December 2010 STARTS Project has received European Commission funding which will

cover up to 80% of the total expenses.

In order to reflect the very distinct competencies, skills and legal frameworks for the different

categories of workers, the project will be split into two distinct pillars:

First Pillar- Mobile Workers: The most significant challenges to be addressed under this

pillar are the new requirements arising from the EU Driver Training Directive no

2003/59/EC. The project will produce a detailed overview of national arrangements related

to the Directive’s implementation, analyse related problems and record how employers and

drivers are responding to meet its obligations in different EU Member States. It will also

make an early assessment of the Directive’s broader impact on the development of skills

within the sector and on how it affects access to employment as a road transport driver.

Where possible, recommendations will be established at the end of the project.

Second Pillar- Non Mobile Workers: This second pillar will focus on non-mobile blue collar

workers employed by road transport companies performing warehouse functions, such as

goods in checking, forklift truck operation, order picking / packing, goods out checking and

stock system coordination. It will seek a better understanding of the competencies and

skills required by these workers and how they are reflected through the training practices

and systems in place at EU Member States level. It is hoped that this exercise will lead to

the identification where appropriate of skills and training solutions that can be used more

widely to boost the competences and safety of these workers1.

IRU Academy

The IRU Academy is a professional road transport training organisation with a global reach. By

developing top-quality training programmes and ensuring quality control of training delivery,

the IRU Academy is active in enhancing the development of professional competence in the road

transport sector. The IRU Academy offers its portfolio of training programmes to road transport

professionals through its global network of Accredited Training Institutes (ATIs). The IRU

Academy uses a multi-lingual content management system to ensure its programme materials

are available to its members and instructors instantly. The IRU Academy is also involved in a

number of other training initiatives, from Road Safety to HIV/AIDS to ECO-Driving which tackle

important issues in the sector and propose solutions2.

In particular, the job of driver is an occupation which often can not be continued

until retirement age because of occupational health problems. The EESC

recommends that the public transport sector should make greater efforts to offer

career opportunities for bus drivers, such as team leader positions and traffic

planning positions 3.

1 http://www.starts.iru.org/en_about 2 http://www.iru.org/en_about_academy 3 EESC (2011), TEN/445. Social aspects of EU Transport Policy.

62

The High Level Group on the Development of the EU Road Haulage Market comes

in its report to the same conclusion: career progression should be encouraged

through measures such as those facilitating access to vocational training and

internal mobility towards office and management positions. 1

Employment quality (excl. training and career opportunities)

According to ETF, the less favourable working image of the urban public sector

can be changed by offering higher salaries to the staff.

Work quality

As regards the road transport sector, EESC recommends:

Improvement of road infrastructure, in particular the provision of safe and

affordable parking areas and rest facilities; part of the revenues obtained

from the "Eurovignette" could be used to improve the quality of parking

areas and rest facilities – this would benefit both business (safety of cargo)

and professional drivers.

The EESC underlines the need for better enforcement of the provisions of the

posted workers' directive in particular in the case of posted workers carrying

out road transport cabotage. Since not all drivers carrying out cabotage are

subject to the Posting Directive2, enforcement is complex. The TRANSPO

project3 addressed difficulties in applying the Directive to the road haulage

sector.

The establishment of a European Road Safety Agency with the task of

safeguarding the safety needs and requirements4.

According to TNO, only by attention to improved health and safety management

and the promotion of a safety culture throughout the sector will the accident and

ill health rate among drivers be reduced.5

Good practice examples have been described in “Managing risks to drivers in

the road transport sector” (online only) – report of case studies in road

haulage/freight lorries and passenger transport,

http://osha.europa.eu/en/publications/reports/managing-risks-

drivers_TEWE11002ENN/view:

As for road transport delivery:

Knowledge-sharing among drivers to prevent non-traffic related work

accidents, Denmark: Use of new technology (part 2.3.3, pages 20-24);

‘Transport online’: an intranet and internet-based system to manage and

supervise truck drivers’ work and rest hours, Finland.

Many examples show the role of intermediaries to support employers to enhance

working conditions and hence maintaining employability in the road transport

1 High Level Group on the Development of the EU Road Haulage Market (2012). Report of

the High Level Group on the Development of the EU Road Haulage Market . 2 Self-employed workers and sub-contracting situations are not covered. There are cases

where the contract can be missing (word of mouth contracts). 3 See: http://www.tagliacarne.it/P42A361C348S42/TRANSPO---Road-TRANSport-sector-

and-POsting-of-workers---English-version.htm 4 EESC (2011), TEN/445. Social aspects of EU Transport Policy. 5 EU-OSHA (2010), A review of accidents and injuries to road transport drivers.

63

sector – technical safety measures in cabs to occupation health measures such

as DocStop rest stop access to medical services)(part 2.3.8, pages 36-39).

As for passenger transport by bus:

Urban and interurban bus-drivers: Psychosocial risk factors and suitable work

clothes for women, Spain (part 3.4.11, pages 189-190);

London buses: action plan for women drivers, UK (part 3.4.14, pages 191-

192)

Again, the involvement of intermediaries supported many of the examples.

Enforcement of regulation in the field of working conditions can be improved by

higher professional standards of control officers in charge of enforcing the rules.

In the respect, we can point at the TRACE project, which will be followed up in

2014 by a project (CLOSER) aiming to improve training of enforcement officers

in a broader range of subjects (see box below).

TRACE

TRACE stands for Transport Regulators Align Control Enforcement. The project concerns EU

rules in the field of Road Transport: on driving time, break and rest periods applying to drivers

engaged in commercial road transport at international and national level. These rules are

defined by Regulation (EC)n°561/2006 and are directly applicable througout the European

Union. The Regulation is commonly known as the "Drivers' Hours' Rules Regulation".

TRACE supports the development of a European harmonised training format for enforcers

controlling the respect of the Drivers' Hours' Rules Regulation. This goal will be achieved

through the creation of harmonised training modules for control officers. This will assist in

reaching the project overall objective of common professional standard for control officers in the

field of Regulation (EC)n°561/2006.

TRACE is a 300,514 Euros project partly funded by the European Commission (DG MOVE). The

project started in August 2010 for a period of 24 months.1 A call for proposals for a TRACE 2

project with a broader scope was launched in 2013.2

In urban public transport, violence and aggression constitute a serious problem.

According tot the EESC, a policy based on zero tolerance against violence

protects passengers and workers and helps to make public transport more

attractive3. Already, counteractive measures have been taken by companies such

as self-defence classes (for women) or de-escalation training for employees.

Furthermore, technical solutions to prevent violence against drivers are

introduced such as emergency buttons or closed cabins in vehicles and private or

business mobile phones for employees4.

In the view of ETF, making the working conditions better would make the urban

public sector more attractive to work in. Competition between the employers for

making the working conditions better, would also contribute to this.

1 http://www.traceproject.eu. 2 http://ec.europa.eu/transport/facts-fundings/grants/2013-08-30-trace_en.htm 3 EESC (2011), TEN/445. Social aspects of EU Transport Policy. 4 ETF (2012), Project report: Women employment in urban transport sector.

64

b. Improving the operational management/ labour

productivity

The logistics and organisation of road transport firms should be improved

by increasing labour efficiency, improving logistic and organisation management,

and increasing the use of alternative transport modes.1

According to UITP, automation is expected to reduce the number of people

needed slightly, but the positions they will fill will be different.

1 European Parliament (2009), Shortage of qualified personnel in road freight transport.

65

6 Conclusions and recommendations

This Chapter presents the main conclusions drawn from this study with regards

to the road transport labour market. In is based on the information in this Annex

11 and on information presented in the main report. The last section presents a

set of recommendations.

6.1 Sub-sectors and job types

The road transport sector comprises three sub-sectors in this study:

Trucking;

Coach;

Urban public transport.

The relevant job types considered in this study in road transport are:

Heavy truck and lorry drivers;

Bus and tram drivers;

Car, taxi and van drivers;

Attendants (passengers only);

Management;

Back-office;

Maintenance staff.

In 2010, road transport (including urban public transport) accounted for 56,4%

of the employment in the sector transportation and storage (excl. postal and

courier activities) as a whole in the EU27. The number of persons occupied in

road transport was 5,269,000 (in comparison to 5,321,900 in 2009 and

5,307,500 in 2008). A majority (3,101,300) of the employment in road transport

in 2001 was in freight transport by road and removal services and a minority

(2,167,600) in passenger land transport, other than interurban rail

transportation.1

As discussed in the Introduction, transport occupations exist in non-transport

sectors of industry. It is obvious this is strongly the case for drivers. As an

illustration, once again the generic overview of overlap.

1 All figures: EUROSTAT.

66

Table 6.1 Overlap between transport occupations and transport sectors, for EU (number of

observations in EWCS 2010)

Sector

Occupation Transport sector Other sector Total

Transport occupation 948 742 1,690

Other occupation 592 33,090 33,682

Total 1,540 33,832 35,372

Source: EWCS 2010 (Eurofound)

In the EU27 roughly 1.2 million workers were employed in urban public transport

in 2010. The majority (55%) of them were drivers. The number of employees of

public transport operators in the EU27 decreased by just under 4% between

2000 and 2010, which corresponds to a loss of roughly 45,000 jobs. However, a

closer look at this development reveals that the number of employees started

increasing again in 2007, rising by about 3% between 2007 and 2010. The

overall decrease in employment in the period 2000-2010 was largely due to

labour productivity gains during the decade. It is plausible that part of the

decrease in the number of employees of operators was due to an increase in

volumes of subcontracting1.

The share of young workers (15-24 years of age) in land transport2 is less than

the EU overall average in 2010 (see figure 3.1). The share of land transport

workers aged 25-49 (65%) is approximately equal to the EU overall share of

workers aged 25-49 (64%). Consequently, the share of workers aged 50 or older

(31%) is above EU overall average. The ageing problem is therefore, more

imminent in land transport than in the EU labour market in general.

Land transport is an extreme case of male predominance. No less than 81% of

the land transport workforce is male (see fig. 6.2)

6.2 Data and literature

In comparison to other modes, data and literature availability is of high

quality. This is due in part, to the size of the mode: statistical reliability is

more likely. Furthermore, many data are only available at ‘land transport and

transport through pipelines’ levels. In this grouping, road freight transport is

much larger than the other (sub)modes therefore, having a large influence on

weighted average results. However, data on issues related to social problems

(for instance compliance with working time regulations) is just as limited as

it is in other modes.

Data concerning smaller sub-modes, for instance taxi’s, is largely limited to

health and safety issues and not much information is available with regards

to (other) working conditions and social protection.

1 UITP (2013), Observatory of employment in public transport. Report 1 - April 2011. 2 data concerns ‘land transport and transport through pipelines’, dominated in terms of

averages by road freight transport.

67

6.3 Social dialogue

Social dialogue in this sector covers passenger and freight transport by road. The

Sectoral Social Dialogue Committee Road Transport comprises the Employers’

organisation International Road Transport Union (IRU) and the employees'

organisation European Transport Workers' Federation (ETF). The International

Association of Public Transport (UITP) is represented through a cooperation

agreement with the IRU.

The Committee is currently focusing on: 1) Better rest facilities; 2) Logistics

qualifications; 3) Driver training directive; 4) Better enforcement of EU driving

and rest time rules; 5) Driver shortages, image and recruitment in road

transport; 6) European Skills, Competences and Occupations Project (ESCO); 7)

Illegal employment; 8) Urban public transport.

6.4 Road transport undertakings and policies

The road freight transport sector positions itself as the dominant freight mode

covering three quarters of the total market. Over the last decade road freight

transport in the EU27 has seen considerable activity growth. The accession of the

twelve new Member States has extensively contributed to this. The gradual

opening of the internal market, the stronger economic growth of the new

Member States and the increase in the specialisation of the production

processes, inducing larger flows of goods, have led to an increased demand for

freight transport in general and an increase of road transport employment, in

particular. Competition and differences in labour costs across the Member States

lead to a strong focus on costs, including downward pressure on wages in MS

with relatively high wages. This has kept profit margins decreasing, despite

remarkable increases in the sector’s turnover and productivity.

Employment in road freight transport is characterised by amongst others:

Considerable geographic concentration of the activity (more than the half

of total goods transport in tkm is accounted for by Germany, Spain,

France and Italy)

High degree of market fragmentation (from 65% to over 95% of

companies have less than ten employees), where a few big players tend

to dominate the market, working in close cooperation with freight

consolidators, such as shippers and freight forwarders and who

subcontract various activities to medium-size and small companies.

A large share of self-employment (19,6% on average in the EU27)1;

A limited variety of occupations: drivers account for a very high share of

employment (reaching almost 70% of total road freight employment in

some EU countries).2

Passenger transport comprises diverse forms of transport, for instance

coach, taxi and minibus, bus and urban rail. Further distinctions can be

1 The proportion of self-employed drivers in the road transport sector varies significantly

between countries, ranging from as high as almost 100% in Malta to as low as 1% in

Luxembourg. See: Eurofound (2007). Impact of the working time directive on collective

bargaining in the road transport sector. 2 European Parliament (2009), Shortage of qualified personnel in road freight transport.

68

made within these sub-sectors. For instance, various types of taxi drivers

and chauffeurs exist: licensed cab drivers, unregulated ‘minicabs’,

minibuses used for collective transport of specific passenger categories

(e.g. elderly or disabled passengers), limousine drivers and company

chauffeurs.

The business is mainly regionally oriented, at least in terms of activities.

Since the liberalisation process started, the road freight transport market has not

evolved in convergence between increased competition and a parallel process of

social harmonisation across the EU Member States. Differences remain

significantly wide. This may lead to unfair transport companies adopting disloyal

competition and social dumping practices. Following the liberalisation efforts and

enlargement of the EU, an increase in competitive pressure has been at work in

road and urban public transport which is aggravated by a number of deficits in

the enforcements of elements of the acquis communautaire and national labour

laws leading to cases of dubious social practices, unfair competition and/or

detrimental working conditions. The extent to which remains unclear – proof is

anecdotal, however, substantial. Some examples:

According to ETF, companies would look for drivers who are ready to accept

the gradually lowering working conditions and pay in the sector, which led to

drivers from the Philippines being brought to work in the EU.

Social and fiscal constructions are set up that appear to have the specific aim

of circumventing regulations:

o False self-employment (avoiding social premiums and circumventing

minimum wage agreements and other relevant labour provisions. In

addition, the self/employed take over part of the risk of doing business)

o Payments per delivery (payments dropping below minimum requirements

(where relevant))

o PO Box firms (business operations in country A, hiring people through PO

Box firm, a subsidiary, under legislation in country B, where no operation

is in order to profit from less expensive arrangements in country B).

o Subcontracting (Subcontracting is used to avoid taking on older

employees when contracts have been won (urban))

o Violations of working time regulations exist, partly spurred on by the

pressure created by "just-in-time" deliveries required from

subcontractors, as well as training rules violations, a trade in (fake and

real) accreditations, cabotage, etc.

An issue that appears specific for regional and local tendering procedures and

therefore, in the transport sector on urban transport, is social return on

investment as a requirement in new contracts of concessions. Frequently local

governments require a percentage (e.g. 10%) of staff to be recruited from the

pool of unemployed. This results frequently in job losses of long-term

experienced employees that often don’t have qualifications that will allow them

to easily find another job and in particular, in the case of older employees. This

requirement is called social return on investment. In the transport sector this is

common for mini-busses and collective transport of specific client types,

although most cases are currently based on circumstantial and/or anecdotal

evidence. In some cases this means that these experienced former employees

will need to receive unemployment benefits.

69

In general, compliance appears to be an issue. Non-compliance of some firms

presses others to do the same in order to be competitive. This may gradually

lead to a culture of non-compliance, a process that is different to halt or turn

around. Several examples have been mentioned above. Other publications show

examples of working time and training rules violations, a trade in (fake and real)

certificates, etc. Both employer and employee associations stress the need for

better control and enforcement of the existing rules and “legislative pause”.

Enforcement in road freight transport has proved to be particularly challenging

as it is a service sector and highly mobile in space and time. Cabotage is

unpredictable as it depends on matching of empty returns and local demand. The

limit of three cabotage operations is particularly difficult to enforce.

6.5 Demand and supply of labour and skills

6.5.1 Panorama 1: Current situation

Road freight transport has been experiencing a progressive shortage of

professional drivers, which has emerged as one of the most critical issues

seriously affecting the competitiveness of the sector over the last ten years. The

shortage has progressively become structural across Europe, although its

impacts have not occurred simultaneously and with the same severity and

magnitude in all EU Member States. According to Eurobarometer, over 70,000

professional drivers were needed in 2008 in Europe, more or less in line with the

results of other studies.

At present the driver shortage problem is mitigated, due to the current economic

downturn and reduction in transport flows with a resulting overcapacity in the

sector, leading to a situation where the problem of driver shortage no longer

ranks amongst the top priorities. However, stakeholders confirm that the

shortage of qualified drivers remains a problem even during the economic

downturn1. The results of the targeted stakeholder consultation indicate that, in

the road sector, labour shortages are common. Close to half of the enterprises

indicate they are currently experiencing skill or labour shortages. On the other

hand, 27% is experiencing and expecting redundancies.

According to experts, the main reasons why shortages exist are:

Technological advances, globalisation, increased complexity of regulations and

additional tasks have brought the required competences to a higher level.

EU working time regulations have reduced the number of hours worked per

driver substantially, specifically overtime. As a result more drivers are

required to do the same amount of work. According to commission staff, this

cannot be the case as daily and weekly driving time limits have been left

unchanged for decades.

1 See the Report of the High Level Group on the Development of the EU Road Haulage

Market (2012), which is amongst others based on stakeholder consultations. The ETF and

IRU confirmed that shortage of qualified drivers is a problem, and that the general

shortage will be more acute as economic recovery takes place.

70

Low attractiveness of working in the sector.

Considering the still relatively low-skilled nature of road transport sector

jobs, the potential labour reserves are large. The low perceived

attractiveness of the profession of truck or bus driver is a barrier to attract

potential employees. Increasing female employment is a possibility,

particularly in regional and national transport. Personal safety issues pose a

barrier for female employment in long-distance transport.

Urban public transport is also facing recruitment problems. Figures are not

available.

Shortages are particularly mentioned by experts for technical jobs – which is an

economy-wide problem as insufficient young people enter technical education.

6.5.2 Panorama 2: Window 2015-2020

The imbalance in supply and demand of drivers may be expected to increase

again as soon as the economy starts recovering1. The scope of the labour

shortages in professional road transport (freight and passengers) at EU-level is

not known in great detail. There are estimates from individual markets, such as

Germany, which lacks roughly 15,000 truck drivers and will lose around 250,000

drivers in the next 10 to 15 years, due to retirement and lack of new entrants2.

A model was built to be able to compare the future demand for transport-related

occupations in the transport sector with the supply of transport-related

occupations in the economy as a whole. For labour supply, two projection

scenarios were built: a ‘general trends’ scenario (Scenario 1) and an increasing

age-specific participation scenario (Scenario 2).

The results for the most relevant road transport related occupations are as

follows:

Heavy truck and lorry drivers: decreasing employment (-0,3% annually), and

decreasing labour supply in scenario 1 (-0,1% annually). Scenario 2 sees an

increasing supply of 1,1% annually.

Bus and tram drivers: decreasing employment in the period 2010-2020 -0,1%

annually), increasing labour supply in scenario 1 (+0,1% annually) and

scenario 2 (2,1% annually)

Car, taxi and van drivers: increasing employment (+0,1% annually), stable

supply in scenario 1 (0,0%), but in scenario 2 increasing labour supply (1,3%

annually)

The results of the forecasting do not give reason to expect increasing shortages

in road transport. This is a contra-intuitive result, given expert opinions and

recent publications in the media. One of the reasons for the discrepancy may be

the relevance of the demand for labour from own-account transporters3. Another

may be the redundancies due to qualitative mismatch (higher level or

1 European Parliament (2009), Shortage of qualified personnel in road freight transport. 2 Institut für Nachhaltigkeit in Verkehr und Logistik (2012). ZF-Zukunftsstudie Fernfahrer.

Der Mensch im Transport- und Logistikmarkt, 3 These are not included in employment figures and thus influence trends.

71

competences required) – which would result in increased demand and reduced

supply.

6.6 Attractiveness of working in the sector

The satisfaction with working conditions of employees in the road transport

sector and their motivation to perform are higher than their satisfaction with

wage. On all three indicators, employees in land transport and transport via

pipelines score lower than the total group of transport employees.

In land transport and pipelines 472 fatal accidents occurred in 2011. This was

77% of all fatal accidents in transport in the EU271. The fatal incidence rate in

land transport was 8,39. This means that on average, more than 8 out of

100,000 workers in land transport died in a job-related accident. This largely

exceeds the fatal incidence rate of all EU27 transport in 2011 (5,75).

Nearly 160,000 non-fatal accidents occurred in land transport and pipelines in

2011. In 92% of those accidents, male workers were involved. The number of

non-fatal accidents in land transport was fluctuating in 2008-2011: the number

decreased in 2009, increased in 2010 and decreased again in 2011. The non-

fatal incidence rate of EU27 land transport was just over 2,800 in 2011 and

slightly above the non-fatal incidence rate of all EU27 transport.

Driver incomes have been negatively influenced by the working time regulations

as the hours worked per week were reduced. This is somewhat of a paradox, as

changes (forbidding performance-based remuneration, forbidding spending

weekly rest in the truck, etc) have the purpose to improve working conditions. In

comparison to the total business economy (excl. financial and insurance

activities), the average wage per employee is lower. There is an ongoing

discussion on who (employers or employees) must pay for the (obligatory) use of

safe rest facilities, for trainings, for border/traffic delays, etc. In brief, the

downward pressure on wages has been discussed above.

Some other issues:

Especially in cross-border transport, the number of nonstandard working

hours (many shifts at night and/or during weekends), long hours away from

home, unpredictable schedules and reduced possibilities to work extra hours,

make the sector unattractive for (young) people.

The degree of control that workers exercise over their work is limited in road

transport. However, being on the road generally gives drivers a certain feeling

of freedom. Technological developments result in higher levels of control,

more restricted work autonomy and less feeling of freedom.

Many drivers in freight and passenger transport by road work in isolation;

they have few contacts with their colleagues and supervisors.

Work intensity has increased due to increased traffic congestion and the use

of ‘lean’ strategies, such as just-in-time.

1 Non-fatal and fatal incidence rates of individual transport modes in 2008-2010 are not

available. Source: EUROSTAT.

72

Work-related risks:

o Physical risks: vibrations, manual handling of loads, risks linked with a

long sitting position, risks linked with being on the road.

o Chemical and biological risks: exhaust fumes and other pollutants.

o Psychosocial risks: stress, aggression, uncertainty resulting from periodic

tendering in bus and taxi.

o Individual behaviour: smoking, consumption of stimulants (coffee and

alcohol), lack of physical exercise (sedentary jobs) and low seatbelt

usage.

Violence and criminality.

6.7 Education, training and certification

Overall road transport qualifications are fairly easy to be granted with: it takes

little time to be trained and no particularly high ISCED1 levels are required, even

if a certain variety seem to be present across Member States and in particular,

concerning heavy truck and lorry driving qualifications.

If qualifications granted are considered, the general trend reported by the data

analysed delineates an increase in quantity during the last few years, which is

nevertheless, not supported by long-term demand. The gap may nonetheless, be

related to adaptation to demand flexibility, as little requirements and training

open the possibility to a wide share of population to be potentially qualified for

the profession, whenever the demand increases.

Technological innovation, globalisation, increased complexity of regulations and

additional tasks have implied a substantial transformation of jobs in the

transport sector, entailing new and more complex skills and training needs (e.g.

Eco-driving skills). This aspect has also affected road transport for which there is

currently a shortage of personnel with innovative skills.

It has been reported that there are many differences between countries in who is

required to pay the training (employer or employee). However, the current cost

of qualifications are deemed a substantial entry barrier. In countries where

employers are charged for this, there is a tendency to reduce costs by cutting

personnel costs, including training costs.

6.8 Conclusions: bottlenecks and risks

The main issues in the road sector labour market(s) identified in the study are:

Many drivers are employed by employers outside of the road sector, or even

transport. This hampers insight in the sector and the effectiveness of

solutions.

A progressive shortage of professional drivers is foreseen by experts and

employers. Currently, many employers already report shortages and the

sector employs many older employees. However, the study forecasts do not

indicate increasing shortages.

1 International Standard Classification of Education.

73

Employers also report current redundancies, mainly due to new and more

complex skills and training needs.

In urban public transport, predominantly shortages for technical jobs are

expected.

In general, job attractiveness is low (payment, away from home, road safety,

crime/abuse/violence, non-standard working hours, autonomy, work in

isolation, time pressure, work intensity).

A strong focus on cost leads to rather dubious social practices (self-employed,

payment per delivery, subcontracting). Little hard evidence is available,

however, much anecdotal evidence is. Lack of compliance with regulations

appears to be a serious issue.

6.9 Policy suggestions

6.9.1 Many drivers are not working in the road sector, or even

in transport

This hampers insight in the sector and the effectiveness of solutions. Given the

expected shortages, a common approach with other sectors (predominantly) in

need of drivers is recommendable to make the job more attractive and better

prepare drivers for the future. Insight in, for instance, labour mobility within and

outside the road transport sector would facilitate this.

6.9.2 Progressive shortage of professional drivers

Considering the relatively low-skilled nature of road transport sector jobs the

potential labour reserves are large. It is clear that making the sector more

attractive to work in is the most important challenge in this context (see below).

Although, changing the image of the work will take time, the measures would

likely help in the short run by retaining currently employed drivers longer.

6.9.3 Redundancies due to new and more complex skills and

training needs

A variety of initiatives has already been undertaken or is being developed in this

field. Updating the competences of current drivers would reduce the number of

redundancies and shortages alike. The introduction of a mandatory CPC for

drivers in the EU also aims to improve the attractiveness of the occupation.

Other examples of Initiatives in this respect are the joint social partner project

STARTS1 (an initiative to improve the image of the profession and level of

professionalism and to influence the salary level) and the IRU Academy.

A project on youth employment with elements of vocational training in this

sector is planned but has not started yet.

The job of (bus) driver is an occupation which often cannot be continued until

retirement age because of occupational health problems. As discussed, 31% of

the employees is currently 50 or older. The road transport sector could make

1 http://starts.iru.org/index/en_home

74

greater efforts to offer career opportunities for (bus) drivers, such as team

leader positions and traffic planning positions. Career progression should be

encouraged through measures such as those facilitating access to vocational

training and internal mobility towards office and management positions.

6.9.4 Expected shortages for technical jobs in urban public

transport

The battle of the Twenties? This will be an extremely important issue on the EU

labour market in the coming years. Already, a general shortage of technicians

exists and this shortage is widely expected to increase. Substantial efforts are

being made to interest children and students in technical professions. However,

the study provides little material to add to the existing general knowledge and

activities on this issue.

6.9.5 Dubious social practices and lack of compliance with

regulations

Obviously, we are discussing a very sensitive topic here, whereas a factual basis

for such a discussion is missing for the most part. Still, it is safe to say there is a

problem with social practices in the sector. At the very least, the stream of

‘stories’ is harming the image of working in the sector even further. Different

parties point to each other as being responsible for solving the issues. As a

result, not a lot of progress is being made. Parties should focus on finding

solutions and cooperate together on this.

Below and in random order, is a number of observations and suggestions.

The culture of compliance should be enhanced. First and foremost, enterprises

and to a lesser extent employees, must pick up this issue. A largely harmonised

set of transparent social, security and competition standards (social code) in

road transport evenly applicable throughout Member States, as has been

suggested, might help, but will take time to develop and will still be difficult to

uphold. Making employers, employees and clients liable or co-liable – as

appropriate – for compliance with common minimum working standards would

put some weight behind this suggested solution.

MS governments and the EC should facilitate this process as much as possible.

This could include changes to regulations or better explanation of them, if

regulations are deemed a barrier towards compliance. The Commission should

continue to promote a uniform interpretation of rules in relation to the most

serious infringements and sanctions. This will assist greatly in breaking down

differential practices which are frequently perceived as discrimination.

Budgetary cuts also affect the enforcement capacity of MS. Moreover, for many

of the issues mentioned, an increase of capacity would only help to a certain

degree. Innovative monitoring is required. Making more use of big data is one

such option. Given the rapid increase of IT in the sector, other innovative

approaches should be possible without an unduly increase of administrative

burden for enterprises and workers. The EC can play an important role in good

75

practice exchange and perhaps also in co-financing initiatives. According to the

transport ministers of six MS, the EC could also clarify the directive concerning

cabotage; notably the part with regards to monitoring 1. Enterprises should be

involved in the process: what is important to monitor and what is effective in

terms of results and administrative burden?

Rather than just expand the capacity in Member States, it would be better to

also improve enforcement. Higher professional standards of control officers in

charge of enforcing the rules are expected to result in improvements. In this

respect, we can point at two EU funded projects: TRACE (aiming at the

development of a European harmonised training format for enforcers controlling

the respect of the Drivers' Hours' Rules Regulation) and the follow-up CLOSER

(Combined Learning Objectives for safer European Roads).

In their study for the European Parliament, Sitran and Pastor support a number

of recommendations concerning enforcement:

“Strengthening enforcement mechanisms in the Member States. This would

require increasing existing controls and enforcement mechanisms and making

them more effective, and might include drafting an ad hoc enforcement

directive to support the application of Regulations (EC) No 1071/2009 and

1072/2009. Furthermore, enforcement measures might target labour and

social laws in the road freight transport sector, such as Regulation (EC) No

593/2008 (Rome I Regulation), for example via joint controls by road

enforcement and labour authorities.

Introducing enforcement impact assessments. These could be introduced with

the purpose of significantly strengthening the enforcement side of EU

legislation, while encouraging Member States to assume their responsibilities

in this area. These should accompany each legislative proposal in order to

evaluate and estimate the impact that the measures applied would have on

the enforceability of the proposal after the EC legislation enters into force.

Introducing reporting mechanisms on the application of Directive 96/71/EC

on the posting of workers. Enforcement can be made more effective if it is

supported by constantly updated data and information about the status of

the implementation of the various norms. This might be the case for Directive

96/71/EC on the posting of workers by including a provision for a reporting

mechanism in Regulation (EC) 1072/2009 that requires each Member State to

inform the Commission about the application of Directive 96/71/EC and for

the prospective posting of workers enforcement directive - for which a

proposal4 is currently being debated in 1st reading at the EP.

Enhancing co-operation between Member States and between different

authorities of the same Member State. This might be achieved by facilitating

exchanges of information and best practices, promoting training of

enforcement officers and supporting concerted training programmes.

Furthermore, it might also include extending the competences of the

intracommunity liaison body established by Directive 2006/22/EC.

Extending the application of the cabotage rules to Directive 96/71/106. This

might require amending Regulation (EC) 1072/2009 with the purpose of

eliminating exceptions and making cabotage rules easier to be enforced.

1 Commission staff is of a view that little can be done in that area by the EC.

76

Creation of a European register of transport companies. This register would

include a black list of those companies that have been found responsible for

illegal or disloyal practices. It might be embedded into the risk rating system

that Member States are required to introduce with respect to undertakings

infringing EU rules on driving times and rest periods. “1

The High Level Group proposes that the twin aims of cabotage rules, reducing

empty running in relation to international operations and opening up markets,

are to be separated and that a distinction is to be made between linked (i.e. to

international movements) and non-linked cabotage.

Further research should be done on the negative impacts of social return on

investment in the framework of concessions. More generally, less focus on price

is advisable. The clients – often regional governments – should be more aware of

the social consequences of their choices in the process. Social dimensions could

be improved by providing employees with an advisory role. Possible social

criteria: setting minimum wages, fully including subcontracted activities in the

process, making demands concerning current employees, particularly the 50+

group, etc.

Further introduction of chain-responsibility to avoid social dumping should be

explored.

6.9.6 Low job attractiveness

Much of the actions above would have a positive effect on job attractiveness.

Notwithstanding those, measures can be distinguished in measures aimed at

improving conditions and measures improving the image of working within the

sector.

In order to improve labour conditions, measures that could be considered are:

Improvement of road infrastructure, in particular increasing the number of

roads and enhancing the comfort and security of affordable parking areas and

rest facilities. This would contribute to better working conditions. The same

goes for the establishment of a European Road Safety Agency with the task of

safeguarding the safety needs and requirements.

Social innovations with regards to work shifts, particularly in international

transport, would make the work attractive to a wider group of potential

employees, including women and older workers.

Women’s participation can be further increased by promoting gender-oriented

measures and by the above infrastructure measures and by reducing gender

discrimination that reportedly occurs. Relevant in this respect, is the project

Women Employment in the Urban Public Transport Sector (WISE).

EU and national policymakers are asked to undertake measures that lead to

true sustainability in the sector, by offering incentives for operators to invest

in new fleets and technology. This would both contribute to greener transport

and improved working conditions.

1 Sitran, A. & E. Pastori (2013). Social and working conditions of road transport hauliers.

Commissioned by the European Parliament, Directorate General for Internal Policies.

77

More attention to improved health and safety management and the promotion

of a safety culture throughout the sector will reduce the accident and ill

health rate amongst drivers. The possibility to set standards to lower work-

related risks could be explored.

Further development of good practice guidelines to tackle risks. All parties

involved should prioritise safer conditions to reduce accidents.

Alternatively, offering higher salaries would make up for less favourable

(other) working conditions.

A policy based on zero tolerance against violence would protect passengers

and workers and help to make public transport more attractive.

Apart from the obvious impact of improvements to working conditions, possible

measures to improve the image of the sector could include:

Measures to make the profession of driver highly skilled, such as the recent

decision to make CPC’s mandatory, will automatically lead to improvement. A

further increase of productivity would bring the required resources to do so.

However, this would increase the qualitative discrepancy (too few sufficiently

trained drivers and too many drivers without the required competences).

Promoting campaigns on the importance of the transport sector in the

economy, the employment prospects and improvements to working conditions

– notably any ‘high tech’ elements therein.