Impact of the working time directive on collective bargaining in the road transport sector
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In France, Road transport is a sector of SME companies: 94 % of the companies have less than 50 employees. This sector is subject to derogation from general rules on working time (the derogation mainly concerns ‘mobile’ staff) and depends on an ‘equivalent system’, which is set out in a decree and authorises derogation from the rules governing legal working time of 35 hours per week (especially regarding overtime).. Since the transposition of the European directive (Decrees of 31 March 2005 and of 8 January 2007), no agreement has been signed between the social partners. The transposition of the European Directive is clearly seen as another very complex challenge to the 35 hour week.
1. Details of the road transport sector in your country
Please provide some basic details about the road transport sector in your country. Information should include:
- the structure of the mobile workforce in the sector, including size, type of employee, proportion of self-employed workers (see also below)
a) road transport sector
Statistical data that are widely published and used in social balance sheets and analyses of employment in the sector (cf. reports of the National transport accounts commission, Commission des comptes des transports de la Nation) [in French] concern employees.
| Total | Men | Women | Manager-ial and professional staff | Intermed-iate occupations | Clerical and office staff | Skilled manual workers | Unskilled manual workers | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Passenger transport | 219.2 | 180.6 | 38.5 | 8.6 | 19.7 | 25.6 | 160.7 | 4.5 |
| Freight transport by road(not incl. by pipeline and removals) | 374.6 | 340.4 | 34.3 | 11.3 | 17.3 | 24.1 | 304.3 | 17.5 |
| Total road transport | 593.8 | 521.0 | 72.8 | 19.9 | 37.0 | 49.7 | 465.0 | 22.0 |
Source: Annual declaration of social data (Déclaration annuelle de données sociales, DADS) by the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques, INSEE).
‘In the transport sector men and manual workers are over-represented. Moreover, the proportion of young and older workers is below average’:
- under 25 years: 6% of transport employees (8% of those in all economic activities);
- over 50: less than 20% (almost 24%);
- according to the March 2002 employment survey, the proportion of women: 22% of transport employees; 45% of the total occupied economically active population in all sectors. The proportion of women is especially small in freight transport by road (13%) and is not increasing much unlike other transport sub-sectors. Moreover, women are concentrated in office jobs.
(Source: Les comptes des transports en 2003, DAEI/SES-Insee, June 2004, p. 91)
b) road transport drivers
All road transport drivers are not part of the road transport sector. A significant proportion (a third) belongs to other sectors.
Moreover, so-called ‘road transport drivers’ do not account for half of all drivers.
| Road transport drivers | Delivery drivers | Other drivers | All drivers | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Transport sector | 68% | 32% | 83% | 57% |
| - including freight transport by road | 61% | 23% | 0% | 36% |
| Other sectors | 32% | 68% | 17% | 43% |
| Total (%) | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| Total (thousands) | 269 | 223 | 99 | 591 |
Source: INSEE, enquête sur l’emploi, March 2002
c) employees and ‘non-employed persons’
Finally, in the transport sector, mobile workers (including drivers and non-drivers, such as ticket inspectors) account for more than 2/3 of the total; the others are mainly ‘sedentary’ employees and non-employed persons (self-employed and employers).
| 1990 | 2000 | 2003* | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Freight transport by road | ||||
| Employees | 89 | 91 | 92 | |
| mobile | 63 | 66 | 70 | |
| sedentary | 26 | 26 | 22 | |
| Non-employed persons | 11 | 9 | 8 | |
| Passenger road transport | ||||
| Employees | 96 | 98 | 97 | |
| mobile | 76 | 73 | 78 | |
| sedentary | 20 | 25 | 20 | |
| Non-employed persons | 4 | 2 | 3 | |
Source: extracted from statistical appendices of the 42nd report of the National transport accounts commission, Enquête annuelle d’entreprise dans les transports, EAE – SES
d) freight transport by road
According to the report on transport accounts in 2005 (published in June 2006), 337,000 people were working in freight transport by road in a context of declining numbers since 2002:
- -0.4% in long distance,
- -0.2% in short distance.
Road transport is a sector of small and medium-sized companies: 94 % of the companies have less than 50 employees.
| 0 - 5 empl. | 6 - 19 empl. | 10 - 19 empl. | 20 - 49 empl. | 50 - 249 empl. | 250 - 499 empl. | 500 empl or more | Size not specified | Total | |
| Number of companies | 52337 | 4125 | 3496 | 3079 | 1300 | 132 | 57 | 12 | 67238 |
| Number of employees on 31/12 | 47694 | 30053 | 48151 | 98788 | 135549 | 45046 | 98117 | 974 | 504372 |
| - incl. freight transport by road | |||||||||
| Number of companies | 26458 | 3318 | 2910 | 2510 | 906 | 81 | 22 | 12 | 36217 |
| Number of employees on 31/12 | 38548 | 24500 | 40102 | 80073 | 92124 | 26981 | 16145 | 974 | 319447 |
* Freight transport by road (or by pipeline) passenger road transport
Source: EAE – SES (INSEE, ALISSE, chiffres clés)
2. Collective bargaining in the road transport sector
Please provide information on collective bargaining in your sector, including:
- details of the social partners in this sector – trade unions and employer bodies, name, field of intervention (all the sector/specific part of the sector// all the workers in the sector/ part of them…)
The five trade union confederations are present in the sector:
- the French Democratic Confederation of Labour (Confédération française démocratique du travail, CFDT);
- the French Confederation of Professional and Managerial Staff – General Confederation of Professional and Managerial Staff (Confédération française de l’encadrement – confédération générale des cadres, CFE-CGC);
- the French Christian Workers’ Confederation (Confédération française des travailleurs chrétiens, CFTC);
- the General Confederation of Labour (Confédération générale du travail, CGT);
- the General Confederation of Labour – Force ouvrière (Confédération générale du travail – Force ouvrière, CGT-FO).
An ‘autonomous’ union is also present: the independent National Federation of Road Transport Drivers (Fédération nationale des chauffeurs routiers, FNCR).
Employer bodies:
- the Union of Transport Federations (Union des fédérations du transport, UFT) is considered to be the main employer organisation in the sector (FR9711177F).
- the National Road Haulage Federation (Fédération nationale des transports routiers, FNTR) claims 12,500 members;
- the National Federation of Automobile Road Haulage Operators' Unions (Union nationale des organisations syndicales des transporteurs routiers automobiles, UNOSTRA) organises small and medium-sized companies and is a member of the General Confederation of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (Confédération générale des petites et moyennes entreprises, CGPME);
- the Federation of French Transport and Logistics Companies (Fédération des entreprises de transport et logistique de France, TLF) claims 10,000 members and is a member of the Movement of French Enterprises (Mouvement des entreprises de France, MEDEF).
Whether there are collective agreements. If so, could you specify whether it is a sectoral one or whether there are agreements that are signed in significant companies. what proportion of the sector do they cover?
The road transport sector is covered by a national collective agreement of Road Transport and auxiliary Transport Activities (FR0212102N). A specific agreement ‘concerning night work in freight transport by road, auxiliary transport activities and removals’ was signed in November 2001 by all the unions in the sector.
No agreement has been signed since the texts transposing the European directive.
If there are agreements, how often are they renewed. What are the subjects covered : definition of working time
As for general regulations applicable to all sectors in France, most of the regulations regarding working time in freight transport by road are based on general principles that are dictated by legislation and possible arrangements determined by collective agreements (cf. below). Payment for service time is also left to collective bargaining.
The sector is subject to derogation from general rules on working time (the derogation mainly concerns ‘mobile’ staff) and depends on an ‘equivalent system’, which is set out in a decree and authorises derogation from the rules governing legal working time of 35 hours per week (especially regarding overtime). The ‘equivalent system’ means that a particular period of presence (for example 38 hours) is considered to ‘be worth’ the same as legal working time (35 hours) and overtime is thus calculated for any time worked beyond the ‘equivalent’ time.
In France, such ‘equivalent systems’ exist in one other sector besides freight transport by road, namely the hotel, restaurant and cafe (HRC) sector (FR0612049I).
- working hours (cf. point 3.a)
- breaks (cf. point 3.a)
- rest periods (cf. point 3.a)
- controls and checks on drivers (cf. point 3.a)
3. Implementation of the Directive 2002/15/EC in your country
Has your country implemented this Directive?
a) If so, please give details of the implementing legislation or collective agreement, and when it came into force.
The first transposition of a European Directive (2000/34/EC, 22 June 2000) concerning working time in transport took place in 2004. It concerned cycles, overtime and time off in lieu, maximum weekly working time of 46 hours (on average during a maximum period of 3 months), daily breaks and night work.
The Directive 2002/15/EC was transposed by a decree on 31 March 2005 ‘concerning working time of mobile staff in freight transport by road’ (FR0505102N). Following an appeal by the CFDT, CGT-FO, CFTC and FNCR unions, the Supreme Administrative Court (Conseil d’État) repealed the decree on 18 October 2006, because procedural rules had not been respected, namely compulsory prior consultation of the Supreme Administrative Court. The repeal rendered null and void measures concerning fixing service times and calculating overtime and compulsory time off in lieu during three-month periods (or four months depending on the collective agreement) instead of the one-month period that was previously in force. The repeal did not concern the so-called ‘equivalent system’ that applies to road transport drivers’ working time. The repeal was retrospective and therefore employees could ask for their calculated service time to be re-examined for the period between the implementation of the March 2005 decree and its repeal in October 2006 and thus the payment of overtime due to them.
A new decree (8 January 2007) regularised the transposition of the European Directive. Its main measures are as follows:
- weekly working time can be calculated for a period that is longer than a week with a limit of 3 months in consultation with the works council (comité d’entreprise) or, if there is not one, then the employee representatives (délégués du personnel);
- service time of mobile freight staff is set at:
- 43 hours per week, i.e. 559 hours per quarter for long-distance drivers (grands routiers),
- 35 hours and 455 hours for message and parcel delivery drivers and security company drivers,
- 39 hours and 507 hours for other mobile freight staff;
- any time worked beyond the corresponding service time is overtime entitling them to time off in lieu;
- compulsory three-monthly time off in lieu is set at 1 day from the 41st hour to the 79th hour of three-monthly overtime; 1.5 days from the 80th to the 108th hour; 2.5 days after the 108th hour. If calculations are on a four-monthly basis, then time off in lieu is set at 1 day from the 55th hour to the 105th hour; 2 days from the 106th to the 144th hour and 3.5 days after the 144th hour;
- maximum weekly working time is fixed at:
- 56 hours for long-distance drivers,
- 48 hours for message and parcel delivery drivers and security company drivers,
- 52 hours for other mobile freight staff;
- collective agreements can set other maximum periods calculated over 3 or 4 months;
- maximum daily working time is set at 10 hours, but can be extended to 12 hours once a week. The opinion of the works council or employee representatives is compulsory for any extension beyond the maximum 10 hours;
- finally, service time that is taken into account for calculations includes all time not devoted to driving while the vehicle is moving (when there is a crew of more than one driver) and 50% of accompanying time (removals – time spent on board while the vehicle is moving when the service provided requires a daily break away from the removal worker’s home).
If not, please give details of any debate about implementation, plus any likely implementation date.
b) If your country has implemented the Directive, has implementation been effected by means of specific terms in collective agreements or brought
new topics onto the collective bargaining agenda in areas such as health and safety, the organisation of working time, working hours and working
conditions or onto these areas in general?
c) The Directive allows for derogations to be made from the provisions on maximum working time and night work, for objective or technical reasons or
reasons concerning the organisation of work, through “collective agreements, agreements between the social partners, or by laws, regulations or
administrative provisions, provided there is consultation of the representatives of the employers and workers concerned and efforts are made to
encourage all relevant forms of social dialogue”.
Maximum working time
Are there any laws or collective agreements in place that allow derogations from the maximum working week of 48 hours, extendable to 60 hours if the average of 48 hours a week is not exceeded over four months? If so, please give details and, if available, statistics on how many workers and companies covered.
See above
Night work
Are there any laws or collective agreements in place that allow derogations from the maximum working day of 10 hours in a 24-hour period if night work is performed? If so, please give details and, if available, statistics on how many workers and companies covered.
See above
4. Specific issues
a) What are the main problems in this sector in your country?
Are there requests from interested parties (employees, trade unions, employer bodies, the government) about regulation on any of the following:
- health and safety
- working conditions
- long working hours
- controls and checks on drivers
b) Self-employed drivers
Please give details of the kind of debate that is being held in your country on this issue. For example, what are the views of the government and the social partners on whether or not self-employed drivers should be covered by national implementing legislation.
c) Trans-border drivers
Are trans-border drivers concerned by your country regulation in the road transport sector? If so, please specify how. For example, which jurisdiction covers drivers who cross your country on their way to other countries? Is this an issue for debate in your country?
d) Other issues
Are there any other issues of importance in your country that have not been covered above?
Working time regulations have long been controversial. The first decrees transposing European Directives led to much union protest – they argued that existing French regulations were more favourable to employees than the European Directives, which did not therefore need to be transposed and also that the rules introduced during transposition were less favourable than the old ones for road transport drivers.
Moreover, in the recent period, following on from the repeal of the March 2005 transposition decree by the Supreme Administrative Court, the unions judged that the new draft law that was submitted to them did not change anything and they were preparing to appeal again. They deplored the sham consultations proposed by the authorities when drawing up the new draft, given what they considered to be a text that was written very quickly and repeated in extenso (via ‘copy and paste’) the repealed decree.
However, the employer organisations emphasised the urgency of ‘having secure measures’ that had been weakened by the repeal of the previous transposition decree.
5. Views of the national centre
It is particularly important that each NC gives its own comments on the issues covered by this study. Please provide any additional information that you consider important to better understand the current situation and recent developments in the area of working time in your country’s road transport sector.
a) In order to understand the French situation and the importance of derogations in the road transport sector regarding regulations on working time, real data should be taken into account – not just the applicable rules.
Thus, the very official National transport accounts commission noted in its 42nd report for 2004: ‘In 2004, according to the survey on ‘tachographs’, weekly service time of freight transport by road drivers is about 45.6 hours for a working week of 5 or more days. Between 2001 and 2004, service time was generally stable, with a slight drop in 2004, except for long-distance drivers. The latter work, on average, 47.5 hours per week, compared with 44.1 hours for ‘short-distance drivers’, i.e. 3.4 hours more, if one only takes into account complete weeks (five days or more). (…) In 2004, for all drivers in the sector, driving accounted for two thirds of average service time. But long-distance freight by road drivers on the longest distances devote 74% of their weekly service time to driving and other work accounts for 13% (6 hours).’ (Source: MTETM/SESP – Les comptes des transports en 2005 (volume 1) – June 2006).
It also noted the low level of average pay in freight transport by road compared with the transport sector in general: EUR 17,791 compared with EUR 21,399 for a full year’s work in 2004.
b) The extent of the weakened situation of the French road transport sector should, of course, be recalled. According to French employer organisations, France is the EU country, which has been most subject to the consequences of the multi-stop pick-up and delivery practices that enable a company from an EU member-state to make journeys within France for which staff are paid in compliance with prevailing employment conditions in the firm’s country of origin (cabotage) (FR0505102N) and also the French road transport flag is on the decline within international transport. They do not cease to deplore the price of diesel, complain about taxes and… working time conditions – drivers’ working and driving time are the shortest in Europe; according to French employers, only France pays drivers’ waiting time as working time…
c) Taking advantage of the fact that the previous decree was repealed for technical reasons and was not challenged by the Supreme Administrative Court on fundamentals, and also taking advantage of the fact that France is entering an electoral period and attention is on other things, the government hastened to publish - without any real consultations - a new decree that practically keeps the main measures of the repealed one.
The current general climate of challenging the 35-hour week by employer organisations and politicians greatly affects the situation. The transposition of the European Directive is clearly seen as yet another challenge to the 35 hour week.
François Michon, Institut de recherches économiques et sociales, IRES