Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-10-08-Speech-3-282"
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"en.20081008.27.3-282"2
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"−
Mr President, Commissioner, thank you for being here. As you are aware, in March 2002, the Council and Parliament came to an agreement, through conciliation, on Directive 2002/15/EC, which establishes the requirements that have to be fulfilled for the working time of persons performing mobile road transport activities, in order to ensure their health and safety, to ensure road safety and also to align conditions of competition for all enterprises. It included all types of work, not only driving but also the physical work that these drivers sometimes do in loading and unloading or cleaning the vehicles.
Therefore, and because it is important, Commissioner, I want to call on you, on behalf of all my fellow members, not to upset the balance and for the promised legislation to be put in place soon.
That conciliation procedure resolved the most significant problem, which was whether or not self-employed workers should be included, and the parties agreed together, with the support of the Commission, that self-employed workers would be included, in order to put an end, once and for all, to the problems of double legislation, the double standards applied to self-employed drivers and employed drivers.
The lack of common regulation raised huge problems: these self-employed workers were working extremely long days, causing problems for their personal lives and for road safety, and also because drivers were posing as self-employed and undermining the rules of fair competition.
It was therefore a great achievement to put an end once and for all, with a reasonable transition period, to this double legislation, and in 2002, the Commission, the Council and Parliament all reached the conclusion that it was the most rational and logical step.
We have produced this own-initiative report, with the support of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs and the Committee on Transport and Tourism because, Commissioner, it now appears that this principle, this commitment from the Commission, the Council and Parliament, is not so firm; it appears that there are ambiguities; it appears that there are confusions and explanations that we are not satisfied with.
The Commission was meant to have produced a report to set out legislation to ensure that these self-employed workers were indeed included. The truth is that the report was presented last year, but it was, in its own words, inadequate and we are waiting for the final report, which means that now, six months from the end of the term established for integration, we do not have a report or any initiatives from the Commission.
That is why, Commissioner, with the date approaching for the inclusion of self-employed workers – and we are neither clear nor convinced that there is still the will that existed at that time, and there are rumours that there are thoughts of reviewing the criteria – Parliament has produced this report with two objectives: as a reminder and as a demand.
It is a reminder of the commitments made by the Council, the Commission and Parliament to workers, businesses and all citizens to put an end to this situation, which is a hotbed for lawsuits, and a demand that the promises be kept. There are no circumstances that have arisen to change the reasons. There is still the same need; therefore, for the health of workers, for road safety and for perfect competition, we should include self-employed drivers in the Directive.
A final request, Commissioner. I think that it is very important, at the end of this term, that you do not go back on the commitment made. Economic demands or sectors of the profession seeking excessive competitive advantages should never be put ahead of the public needs that I am referring to."@en1
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