Memorandum from the Road Haulage Association
Ltd (RHA)
INTRODUCTION
The Road Haulage Association (RHA) was formed
in 1945 to look after the interests of haulage contractors in
various areas of the country, in effect, amalgamating local organisations
that had been established. The Association has subsequently developed
to become the primary trade association representing the hire-or-reward
sector of the road transport industry. There are now some 10,000
companies in membership varying from major companies with over
5,000 vehicles down to single vehicle owner-drivers.
BACKGROUND TO
THE INDUSTRY
The road haulage industry plays a pivotal role
in the UK economy carrying over 80 per cent of all domestic freight.
In 2002 this amounted to:
— 1,019 million tonnes carried in hire-or-reward
vehicles;
— 608 million tonnes carried in own-account
operators' vehicles;
— a total of 1,627 million tonnes of
goods going by road;
— 149 billion tonne kilometres on road
transport;
— an average length of haul of 46 kilometres
for rigid vehicles, 133 kilometres for articulated vehicles and
92 kilometres as an overall average.
There are around 52,000 businesses in the industry
and between them they operate some 425,000 vehicles over 3.5 tonnes
gross vehicle weight.
THE ROLE
OF ROAD
HAULAGE
Modern day lifestyles are heavily dependent
on the ready availability of efficient freight transport. Without
it retailers would not be able to offer the range of produce that
they do throughout the year at acceptable prices (items that previously
would have been available only on a seasonal basis) and manufacturers
costs would be higher, leading either to more expensive goods
to the consumer or to the loss of business to competition from
abroad. Those who would wish to reduce the movement of lorries
on the roads must accept therefore that society in general would
need to be prepared to accept some very significant changes to
lifestyles. That said the industry is constantly seeking ways
to improve its efficiency and effectiveness and to reduce the
impact that it has on the environment and on the community in
general.
The road transport industry is in the unique
position of being one of the first sectors of industry to have
a sectoral directive (2002/15/EC) on working time, that does not
permit the opt-out. The industry is currently facing up to the
considerable challenges being presented when the Road Transport
Directive is implemented for mobile workers in road transport
on 23 March 2005. The RHA has undertaken extensive research and
concludes that up to 60,600 additional drivers may be required,
operational costs could increase by up to £3.8 billion in
2005 and as an on-going cost, numbers of commercial vehicles required
could increase by 2-3 per cent—8,500-12,000 additional goods
vehicles, increasing congestion will worsen the effect of the
Directive and the net effect of these projected costs will see
UK GDP fall and unemployment and RPI will rise. A two page summary
of the research is attached as an annex to this memorandum. The
full report can be obtained from www.rha.net.
1. The reference periods used for determining
the working week
Although mobile workers will be restricted to
a maximum six month reference period from 2005, it is essential
to maintain the flexibility needed by non-mobile support staff
if the opt-out is restricted in any way and allowing a 12 month
reference period would be useful to many haulage employers as
some work is cyclical or seasonal eg:
(a)
Delivery of heating oil and fuel—busiest times
are obviously weather dependent but generally run from November
to March.
(b)
Delivery of animal feed—again weather dependent,
but generally from November to March.
(c)
Agricultural sector—for distribution of seeds,
fertiliser, lime, grain storage etc typically from August through
to Christmas. The sugar beet season runs from September to February.
(d)
Caravan sector—transportation of caravans from
March/Easter until early summer—May/June—generally
determined by Easter and school holidays.
(e)
General haulage involved in distribution of Christmas
goods—generally starts late August until Christmas Eve.
(f)
Toy distributors generally start a little earlier,
in July.
It is unduly restrictive to have the 12 month
reference derogation limited to collective or workforce agreements
as currently outlined in the Directive.
2. The use of the individual opt-out by the
UK and other Member States
All Member States have had the opportunity to
use the opt-out, and the RHA is aware that many Member States
joining the EU in May 2004 are currently trying to use it now
following the 2003 ECJ rulings. It should be borne in mind that
the UK made wide use of the opt-out as it does not have the collective
bargaining structures that are found in most other Member States
enabling it to use other derogations more easily.
The lack of evidence presented in the Commission's
paper causes concern to the RHA as there is no consideration given
to the stresses encountered by individual workers in their private
lives—which can, and often does, impact upon their employment,
although is completely beyond the knowledge and control of the
employer. The health implications of exceeding 48 hours are rarely
solely attributable to work—family life, health worries,
financial worries, sports and interests outside work can all affect
an individual's ability to stay healthy and manage stress in the
workplace.
All EU Member States are suffering from shortages
of skilled labour, forbidding workers from exceeding a 48 hour
week will seriously exacerbate this problem. Recruitment and training
of workers from EU enlargement states is not necessarily the solution
when the UK has its own competent, experienced and willing workers.
Workers within the EU, and especially within the UK, already have
extensive individual employment and health and safety rights and
protection and workers should be able to retain the right to choose
whether to work more than 48 hours.
The Commission already accepts enforcement of
a 48 hour week will, at best, be extremely difficult and has decided
to leave this to Member States to sort out. In practice it will
be virtually impossible—second jobs more likely to be part
of "black economy" with major implications for taxation
authorities. The Commission, along with the Employment and Social
Affairs Commissioner has claimed there has been "widespread
abuse of the opt-out in the UK"—but the report prepared
for the European Commission, by Professor Catherine Barnard at
the University of Cambridge, found this was not the case—Employment
Tribunals do not report claims for abuse or detriment, ACAS do
not take large numbers of calls from individuals seeking advice
following abuse or detriment and to date there has been only one
prosecution, following introduction of the regulations 5½
years ago.
The RHA has not found any evidence that the
UK has any commercial advantage over other EU Member States by
using the opt-out—all had the opportunity to use it. Recent
research in France indicates an increasing dissatisfaction with
the 35 hour week, with many workers wanting to work longer hours.
3. The definition of working time in the light
of the SiMAP and Jaeger judgments of the ECJ about on-call requirements
for hospital doctors
It is the view of the RHA that to define time
spent asleep on call in a hospital as "working time"
is absurd and defies common sense. Being "on-call" is
a common feature in most transport undertakings as 24 hour call
needs to be provided, often with a duty or transport manager being
on-call out of normal working hours. Thus, we are concerned about
the implications of this ruling being extended to other sectors.
4. Ensuring Compatibility between Work and
Family Life
The UK has made much progress in promoting professional
and family life. Recently, through domestic regulations, the Government
has introduced paid paternity leave, extended maternity leave
and the right to flexible working. This is in addition to EU directives
on part-time working, fixed term contracts working, and the parental
leave directive and various discrimination Directives. Drivers
have commented to the RHA that there is only so much they can
do with the additional spare time they will have from March 2005,
when their personal earnings are so limited.
Perversely, some long distance and Continental
lorry drivers are likely to spend more time away from home, as
they will need to take their weekly rest away from home in order
to comply with the 48 hour week.
GENERAL COMMENTS
The RHA accepts some of the concerns outlined
by the European Commission about the way the UK has implemented
certain provisions of the WTD. However, it would not be too difficult
for the DTI to amend the existing regulations and reissue the
Employers Guidance to ensure that opt-out documents prepared by
employers are completely separate from offers of employment and
contracts of employment, and to ensure that opt-out agreements
clearly state that the individual can choose whether to opt-out
or not, outline their rights and entitlements, and formally advise
them that they can change their mind in the future if they wish
to. Employers could again be obliged to record hours worked over
48 per week. Annually renewable opt-out agreements would be extremely
bureaucratic for larger companies, but even this would be preferable
to losing the opt-out altogether. Additionally, to further protect
workers from long hours, the HSE could revise guidance on risk
assessment to require specific assessment on those who work more
than 48 hours, compelling employers to formally consider the health
implications of working longer hours, even where employees are
willing to do so. We believe that such actions could provide the
desired protection for workers whilst retaining the flexibility
necessary to ensure a vibrant and successful economy.
February 2004
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