STOP SOCIAL DUMPING IN THE ROAD FREIGHT INDUSTRY

RMT helpline 0800 3763706 :: july/august 2009 :: RMTnews 26 RMT’s road freight conference meeting in Weston-Super-Mare called for a campaign to oppose European Union rules that allow low paid foreign lorry drivers to engage in up to six load journeys while on the country. Andrew Hill, Leeds and Cartage said that employers should not employ foreign drivers that “do not pay road tax in this country, use cheaper diesel from abroad and often drive unsafe vehicles”. “This is not a level playing field and it is costing the jobs of our members,” he said. Jim Rafferty, Exeter Rail said that conference was not against foreign workers working in Britain but demanded a level playing field. “In Spain the government does not allow foreign drivers to take goods across the border,” he said. Bill Drackley, Birmingham Engineering said that the police were not stopping lorries with foreign number plates because it was “too much hassell to deal with them”. “The chief constable of Kent has said that he was not prepared to stop speeding foreign lorries due to the lack of interpreters and the need to impound vehicles. “A family was killed recently on the M6 in an accident with a foreign lorry and many of these vehicles are unsafe,” he said. Peter Daniels, Leeds Goods and Cartage, agreed and said that police had told him that pulling up foreign lorries was “more trouble then its worth”. Assistant general secretary Pat Sikorski said that EU rules, creating the conditions for a “race to the bottom” in terms of wages and conditions, were being exploited by transnational companies in the pursuit of profit. He said that the problem was not foreign workers but the legal framework imposed by the EU allowing the complete free movement of goods, services, capital and labour regardless of the consequences. “On top of this the European Court of Justice has ruled that industrial action which contravenes these rules is effectively illegal, preventing trade unions acting in defence of their members,” he said. He said that was why RMT was supporting the No2EU: Yes to Democracy electoral coalition at the euro elections, in protest at EU rules designed to protect big business and undermine real trade union rights. “These ECJ rulings are bringing back Victorian ideas that trade unions in dispute with the employer was acting ‘acting in restraint of trade’ and therefore illegal,” he said. Pat suggested that the road freight advisory committee meet with the union’s executive committee to discuss how to take the campaign forward. “We need a national industry-wide agreement and we need to campaign for it,” he said. PROTECTIVE GEAR Conference unanimously agreed that the union negotiate with Lynx/UPS for all handling grade staff to be issued with uniforms and personal protective equipment (PPE) as required by the Health and Safety Executive. Trevor Hiscox, Swansea said that at one depot he visited only one member of staff was wearing a hi-fi vest and adequate boots. “When I asked why this was the case I was told the staff don’t last long enough. “Even aside from the very important safety aspect it would be a good advert for the company if staff had proper uniforms and equipment,” he said. Peter Daniels said that supplying PPE was a legal requirement and that the company was effectively breaking the law. “The company just shouldn’t be allowed to get away with it, end of story,” he said. Andrew Hill, Leeds Goods and Cartage said that one excuse he had been given for staff not wearing boots was that ‘the parcels are not heavy STOP SOCIAL DUMPING IN THE ROAD FREIGHT INDUSTRY RMT road freight conference calls for campaign against social dumping