On Saturday 21 June, the European Transport Workers’ Federation, which represents the trade unions in the transport sector, has been declared ‘Day against Fatigue behind the Steer’. As a result, the Belgian trade unions will organize various consciousness campaigns.
In 2021, ETF published a study showing that 60 % of the truck drivers are regularly tired behind the wheel. According to the ETF, the causes that are cited by the drivers are long working hours, irregular working hours and insufficient breaks. “By calling on June 21 as a day against fatigue behind the wheel, we want to encourage employers and policymakers to take concrete measures. The only answer to the current crisis in the road transport sector is to ensure that drivers can do their work under good circumstances, get a fair wage and are protected by just rules,” said the Belgian ACV-transac trade union. Between 18 and 23 June, this trade union organizes various awareness actions on motorway parking.
The Socialist Trade Union BTB selected Thursday 19 June for Awareness promotions on six different parking spaces and for different companies, including Xwift, TML and DFDS. On this occasion, the BTB launches a multilingual hotline for truck drivers who have questions about their rights or want to report abuses. The Hotline was set up in response to the 25,000 conversations that trade union representatives have held with drivers in the past ten years. “Chauffeurs hebben geen vaste werkplek. Om met hen te kunnen praten, moet de vakbond zelf het veld in. De BTB doet dat al meer dan tien jaar door roadshows te organiseren op parkeerplaatsen, in logistieke centra en bij tankstations. Deze gesprekken leveren waardevolle informatie op over wat er werkelijk gebeurt op het terrein: achterstallige lonen, sociale dumping, intimidatie of gewoon onwetendheid over de rechten”, legt Frank Moreels, Chairman of the BTB, out.
