Drivers set to join 48hr limit
Page 4
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
The European Parliament is set to refuse to exempt truck drivers from the EV's forthcoming 48-hour working week.
Despite intense lobbying from road transport employers' groups, MEPs from the European Parliament are expected to approve European Commission proposals designed to stop employers and drivers from opting-out of the 48-hour limit.
The European Parliament's social affairs committee is expected to request that only drivers of emergency vehicles should be fret to agree to work longer. The committee will also ask for the EC's planned Directive to include an amendment making employers and owner-drivers responsible for keeping working hours records for more than two years.
The Directive will not be written into UK law for several years, but before it takes effect hauliers and drivers
will have to address the issue of shorter hours and the effect on wages.
Road Haulage Association employment head, Ruth Nutt, says despite the expected escalation in demand for drivers she cannot imagine pay of 1400 for a 70-hour week being unaffected by a fall to 48 hours. "Drivers we have spoken with are highly cheesed off because It will have an dramatic effect on their wages," she says.