Post by buccaneer on Feb 14, 2023 3:28:37 GMT
Looking at the EU press, everything is far from rosy in EUtopia.
Typical of ze Commission this:
euobserver.com/health-and-society/156699
Typical of ze Commission this:
Europe is running out of drivers.
By 2026, if no further action is taken, the shortage is expected to triple. And EU Commission plans risk making matters worse.
Over 2 million more drivers will be needed within EU frontiers and demand for bus and coach drivers will grow by 20 percent in the coming years, according to a recent report by the International Road Transport Union (IRU).
"If we wait any longer, the driver shortage will become a driver crisis and disrupt mobility and supply chains and the economy of the European Union," IRU president Radu Dinescu also said in November.
We are already seeing it.
France is missing 7,000 school bus drivers due to workers leaving the profession.
Spain has launched a programme to recruit Moroccan truck drivers, in a related sector.
And Ireland has given permits to workers from third countries to address the shortage of these professionals, to give a few examples.
But with this in mind, some EU Commission ideas on how to reform things have met with dismay.
The commission is currently reviewing a 2006 regulation, updated in 2020, which includes a number of measures concerning coach tourism services.
But two of its ideas are causing concern to the European Transport Workers Federation (ETF) .
The first modification would seek to give more flexibility in the daily breaks of occasional passenger transport workers — such as those who conduct guided tours.
What would this mean in reality? Instead of a 45-minute rest stop every four and a half hours or so, there would be three 15-minute breaks, or one 15-minute break and one half-hour break.
The second is to make it easier for firms to force drivers to work 12 days in a row without a day off.
But "a 15-minute break is practically a non-break for bus and coach drivers," the ETF pointed out.
Drivers would not even have enough time to go to the toilet or have a snack, it said.
"I already have an extremely difficult time with the current driving and rest period regulations," a female driver who has been working for 25 years primarily in coach tourism told EUobserver.
When asked if she would accept these new conditions, she didn't hesitate. "I will quit", she said.
By 2026, if no further action is taken, the shortage is expected to triple. And EU Commission plans risk making matters worse.
Over 2 million more drivers will be needed within EU frontiers and demand for bus and coach drivers will grow by 20 percent in the coming years, according to a recent report by the International Road Transport Union (IRU).
"If we wait any longer, the driver shortage will become a driver crisis and disrupt mobility and supply chains and the economy of the European Union," IRU president Radu Dinescu also said in November.
We are already seeing it.
France is missing 7,000 school bus drivers due to workers leaving the profession.
Spain has launched a programme to recruit Moroccan truck drivers, in a related sector.
And Ireland has given permits to workers from third countries to address the shortage of these professionals, to give a few examples.
But with this in mind, some EU Commission ideas on how to reform things have met with dismay.
The commission is currently reviewing a 2006 regulation, updated in 2020, which includes a number of measures concerning coach tourism services.
But two of its ideas are causing concern to the European Transport Workers Federation (ETF) .
The first modification would seek to give more flexibility in the daily breaks of occasional passenger transport workers — such as those who conduct guided tours.
What would this mean in reality? Instead of a 45-minute rest stop every four and a half hours or so, there would be three 15-minute breaks, or one 15-minute break and one half-hour break.
The second is to make it easier for firms to force drivers to work 12 days in a row without a day off.
But "a 15-minute break is practically a non-break for bus and coach drivers," the ETF pointed out.
Drivers would not even have enough time to go to the toilet or have a snack, it said.
"I already have an extremely difficult time with the current driving and rest period regulations," a female driver who has been working for 25 years primarily in coach tourism told EUobserver.
When asked if she would accept these new conditions, she didn't hesitate. "I will quit", she said.
