Why We Need Better Working Conditions for Truck Drivers
COVID-19 has worsened the already critical working conditions of truck drivers across Europe. The collaborative platform “Responsible Trucking” will keep on working virtually to draft Social Guidelines that will set common standards for all contractors in the industry. Responsible Trucking is still accepting new partners.
With the spread of COVID-19, partners of the Collaborative Platform “Responsible Trucking” have switched to virtual meetings to ensure the safety of all the participants. However, while we are working from home, the coronavirus has had more devastating effects for truck drivers, who are continuing to work to ensure a constant supply of food and medicine.
Even before COVID-19, drivers already contend with long waiting times at delivery points, extended time away from their families and a lack of access to toilet facilities. During COVID-19, these already worrying issues worsened. With many businesses experiencing temporary closures across Europe, truck drivers now have even fewer options for food or toilets throughout their journeys. When several Member States decided to close their borders, truck drivers had to face even longer waiting times to be able to cross into other European countries.
This is why CSR Europe, along with a leading group of shippers and carriers will continue to work in the coming months to develop a set of standards to improve the quality of truck drivers’ working conditions. They will address the endemic problems found within the industry, including non-transparent payment methods, excessive working hours, and a lack of driver facilities. Partner companies will also work to develop a common spot-check tool to test the level of compliance of suppliers with regards to these Standards. In this way, the industry will be able to gauge the level of maturity of suppliers when it comes to ensuring the conditions that are most important to the truck drivers themselves.
The next workshop will take place on the 28th of May. If the situation relating to COVID-19 does not improve, the event will be turned into a digital webinar.