A4-0032/99

Resolution on transport policy and the harmonisation of social legislation

The European Parliament,

- having regard to the Council of Europe's European Social Charter of October 1961,

- having regard to Directive 93/104/EC of 23 November 1993 concerning certain aspects of the organisation of working time ((OJ L 307, 13.12.1993, p. 18.)),

- having regard to Articles 118a and 118b of the Treaty establishing the European Community,

- having regard to Articles 137, 138 and 139 of the consolidated version following the Amsterdam European Council of the Treaty establishing the European Community, which introduces the codecision procedure for many aspects of social policy,

- having regard to the Commission's White Paper of 15 July 1997 on sectors and activities excluded from the working time directive (COM(97)0334),

- having regard to the Commission's consultation paper on the second stage of consultation of the European social partners on sectors and activities excluded from the working time directive,

- having regard to the Commission report on the implementation in 1993-1994 of Regulation (EEC) No 3820/85 on the harmonisation of certain social legislation relating to road transport (COM(97)0698),

- having regard to the need to apply Regulation (EEC) No 3820/85 and Regulation (EEC) No 3821/85 of 20 December 1985 on recording equipment in road transport as uniformly as possible in the Member States to create fair working conditions and fair conditions of competition,

- having regard to the proceedings of the Third Pan-European Transport Conference in Helsinki and in particular of its Working Group 1, where social aspects figured prominently in the debate,

- having regard to Rule 148 of its Rules of Procedure,

- having regard to the report of the Committee on Transport and Tourism and the opinion of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (A4-0032/99),

A. whereas progress in achieving the single market and free movement of persons varies from one transport sector to another and they are lagging behind other sectors of the economy in this respect and whereas social legislation in the transport sector reflects these differences,

B. whereas social harmonisation must be based on high social standards of safety, qualifications and training and must contribute to the development of employment,

C. whereas management of transport will determine the quality of mobility of citizens,

D. whereas the aim of the harmonisation of social legislation is not to regulate market forces but to eliminate competition which is damaging to health, safety, quality of life and mobility in general,

E. whereas clear and precise rules are essential for employers in that they mark out the playing field for competition and prevent cutthroat competition which destroys jobs and capital,

F. whereas Directive 93/104/EC on working time excludes transport sectors and whereas the European Commission has taken initiatives to remedy this situation, as called for and supported by the European Parliament and its Committee on Transport and Tourism for some considerable time,

G. whereas working time is an important factor in protecting health, transport safety and competition between firms and whereas such competition has increased in recent years as markets have been liberalised and whereas workers must therefore be protected against abuses,

H. whereas efforts are currently underway in various sectors to reach agreement between employers and employees at European level and whereas such agreements will serve as a basis for legislative proposals from the Commission,

I. whereas internalising external costs will have an influence on the quality of work and quality of life of citizens,

J. whereas training and conditions governing access to professions and related qualifications is an important factor in quality of life and the safe performance of various tasks,

K. whereas transport must take particular account of people with reduced mobility,

L. whereas checks and sanctions under existing regulations must be regular and uniform and liability must be defined,

M. whereas concepts such as working time, active and passive work, mobile and non-mobile workers must be better defined at sectoral and international level,

N. whereas the Amsterdam Treaty devotes a specific chapter to employment and many of the measures proposed in the area of transport have an impact on the employment of almost 6 000 000 people and account directly for 3 000 000 jobs,

O. whereas in the air transport sector, where deregulation has gone ahead rapidly, flight times and rest periods for pilots and cabin staff are not regulated at European level, nor is cabin staff training,

P. whereas in the maritime sector the social partners have reached an agreement,

Q. whereas in the rail sector national labour agreements exist and employers and employees have just recently reached agreement at European level on working time and rest periods,

R. whereas there are problems in arriving at an agreement in the inland waterways sector, for which the European Commission is currently preparing a legislative proposal,

S. whereas road transport constitutes by far the largest group excluded from Directive 93/104/EC and whereas for this group Regulations 3820/85 and 3821/85 (driving and rest periods - tachograph) are not sufficient to ensure social protection and hence sufficient competition between firms, as revealed by the Commission's 18th report mentioned above on the application of these regulations during 1993 and 1994;

I. General principles

1. Points out that there is a direct link between proper regulation of working time, transport safety and workers' health, which has the advantage for employers of creating clearer and more transparent conditions of competition, and hence the importance of applying Directive 93/104/EC to the various sectors simultaneously and as broadly as possible;

2. Welcomes the Commission's latest proposals on the organisation of working time in the sectors and activities excluded from Directive 93/104/EC, the amendment of the Working Time Directive to cover all non-mobile workers in the rail sector as well as the specific provisions on working time in road and for seafarers;

3. Stresses the need to make a reduction in working time, without cuts in wages, one of the major objectives to be promoted, for the sake of both employment and safety in the transport industry;

4. Points out the importance of ensuring that the sectoral committees proposed are as representative as possible and that social dialogue is implemented and developed so that the proposed agreements are effective; insists that the sectoral approach must be coordinated to encourage the multimodal development of transport;

5. Calls for regular and uniform monitoring of regulations, penalties that have a sufficient deterrent effect and maximum use of the new technologies for transport monitoring and safety;

6. Calls on the Council and the Commission to adopt a clear definition of the term 'working time'. In the transport sector, working time must include not only driving time and time spent loading and unloading the vehicle but also all the other time during which the worker is at his employer's disposal for the purpose of work;

7. Calls on the Council and the Commission to define dependent employment and self-employment in order to put a stop to ostensible independence;

8. Calls for a clear definition of liability between those giving orders and those carrying them out;

9. Calls for mutual recognition of training and access to professions in the transport sector to be a basic principle so as to ensure freedom of movement for employees; this also presupposes a harmonised level of general and vocational training adapted to requirements and compliance with equal opportunities for men and women;

10. Calls for an evaluation of measures in the transport sector in terms of their impact on jobs, working conditions and mobility in general;

11. Reaffirms the principle of non-regression and calls for acquired social rights in the Community to be taken into account in international negotiations so as to prevent as far as possible international competition that is detrimental to matters recognised by the Community as having to be protected from market pressures;

12. Emphasises the specific characteristics of public transport services and the legitimate demands of people with reduced mobility;

II. Railways

13. Welcomes the agreement signed in September 1998 between the social partners in this sector and considers that an agreement needs to be found for sectors in direct competition with the railways;

14. Urges the Member States and the Commission to work towards vocational and language training for staff and mutual recognition of diplomas to prepare as well as possible for an open market and to ensure proper interoperability between the various firms and systems in this sector;

III. Inland waterways

15. Welcomes the fact that, following the breakdown in negotiations between employers and employees in 1995, the Commission has taken the initiative and is currently drafting a legislative proposal basically covering rest periods and working time and the composition of crews;

16. Would like to see this proposal based primarily on the working time and rest period provisions in other transport sectors, allowing for the fact that this sector has many self-employed operators;

IV. Air transport

17. Notes that the working time directive should, in principle, be applied to ground staff but that the practical measures taken to implement the directive are inadequate;

18. Notes that efforts to introduce harmonised regulations on flight times and rest periods for flight crews at European level are progressing only slowly; believes that harmonised regulations are needed for this group of staff in the interests of the health and safety of both passengers and crew;

19. Regrets that the Commission proposal on safety requirements and attestation of professional competence for cabin crews in civil aviation (COM(97)0382) is not one of the current Presidency's priorities;

20. Regrets that international agreements do not take sufficient account of the consequences of outsourcing and working conditions and conditions of access to professions that are considered essential at European level;

V. Sea transport

21. Considers that in the sea transport sector, employment is seriously under threat as a result of the decision to abolish VAT-free sales and refers to its earlier positions on this matter;

22. Considers that the Commission's recent proposal to require EU shipping companies to pay employees from non-member countries the same as employees from the EU is a step in the right direction and will help safeguard the seafaring profession in Europe;

23. Welcomes the agreement reached in this sector on working hours and rest periods based on an agreement concluded within the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and awaits the Commission's legislative proposal;

VI. Road transport

24. Notes the breakdown in negotiations at European level between the social partners in this sector on the key issue of reform of the current rules on driving time and rest periods and supports the Commission's approach of not extending the deadline imposed on the negotiators but drafting a legislative initiative;

25. Notes that these negotiations have nonetheless revealed a broad area of agreement which must serve as a basis for legislative proposals from the European Commission;

26. Points out that in the enforcement of driving times there are discrepancies between the fines imposed in various countries and that differences in the intensity of checks constitute discrimination and therefore urges the Member States to make an effort to harmonise such matters;

27. Urges that account should be taken of self-employed drivers, particularly as regards measures to improve safety and training and access to the profession.

28. Believes very strongly that Community-wide regulatory action is essential if rules on working time are to be properly enforced by Member States and, whilst noting the contribution that the development of the tachograph should make in this regard, calls upon the Commission to ensure that thorough controls are put in place together with effective sanctions and that there should be comprehensive reporting on the application of measures by Member States within a common time limit to allow a full overview of social issues within the road transport sector;

29. Urges also that the new legislative initiative should introduce not only a limitation of working time, but also the possibility of greater flexibility in the arrangement of working time;

30. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and the Commission.