IRHA call time on Directive

The Working Time Directive is a classic example of European bureaucrats trying to legislate from a point of ignorance. When it came into force for mainstream European workers some four years ago, the road transport industry, the airline industry and the medical profession were left outside the scope of the directive.

McMahon commented: Bureaucrats have come up with these regulations without a proper understanding of the industry. Transport is not a normal nine to five industry. The 48-hour rule has been applicable to non-mobile workers for years. You have to ask yourself why did we have the derogation in the first place? Because it was understood at that stage that transport is not a normal industry and needed more flexibility."

The Working Time Directive as applied to transport operators may never see the light of day; such are the divisions amongst member States. The 'pro' lobby, headed by Germany and France are at loggerheads with the UK, Ireland, Portugal and Holland to name a few.

It will be at least two years before the Directive comes into force, according to McMahon and the former IRHA president has a forlorn hope that it might never see the light of day. "If the Directive is passed by the Council of Ministers before the end of the year, which seems very unlikely, you are looking at a time frame of two to three years before it is introduced."

The IRHA is against the introduction of the Directive for a number of reasons; the most obvious being that Ireland is an island nation of the periphery of Europe and subsequently working at a huge geographic disadvantage. "The biggest
implication is cost. National operators may be able to work around it. Because of our peripheral nature the 48-hour working week is not practical. Everybody thinks double manning the vehicle will solve the problem. But that won't allow the vehicle to go out and come back legally in 48 hours."

The IRHA has submitted a proposal that could allow Irish operators to work legally within the 48-hour rule. McMahon revealed: "We have put a proposal to Brussels that would get around that. We could work on the basis on 48 hours driving time, that is the actual time the driver is driving his vehicle. If we can get over that hurdle and get it down to driving time only, it will be manageable."

He stresses that the legislation in its current form is flawed. However, if and when it is introduced, McMahon wants a level playing field for everybody. "There are still a lot of anomalies involved, particularly with the idea of keeping the self employed out the scope of the Directive. A lot of countries including Ireland are objecting to that. If the Directive is coming in, it has to be the same for everybody.
"You cannot have a differentiation. It will completely distort competition. All the bigger transport companies would sell off their vehicles to the drivers and everybody would become self-employed. That is the big fear, he commented.

The IRHA also want to know who will enforce the new legislation if and when it comes to pass. "We have bundles and bundles of legislation at this time that isn't being enforced properly. We want to know who is going to enforce the legislation and how is it going to be enforced?"

It is not only Irish transport operators that would be affected. Four out of five haulage companies in Northern Ireland and the UK will be adversely affected when the EU Working Time Directive is extended to the sector, according to figures released by the Road Haulage Association.
Eighty per cent of the companies surveyed said drivers normally worked more than 48 hours per week. Two-thirds said they would have to recruit more staff when the Working Time Directive is extended to the sector, while 60 per cent felt drivers would expect the same pay as they get now. Half those surveyed thought drivers would leave the industry if their net take home pay was affected.

"The UK have a big problem with regard to the night time driving part of the Directive where drivers are confined to working an eight hour shift. The UK work on a hub system where much of the deliveries take place at night. These "hubs" were strategically placed to account for a 10 hour shift," McMahon explained.
McMahon thinks it is still possible that the Directive might be dropped altogether if majority agreement isn't reached. "It is talking so long to get a resolution that the whole thing could be dropped. That is still a possibility. There are so many different scenarios on the table. That is why it is taking so long to get a final agreement.

He believes the war is far from lost and that there is still very much to play for. "There is still a lot of negotiating and discussions to be done before we get a resolution."