Impact of the working time directive on collective bargaining in the road transport sector — Italy
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Directive 15/2002 has not yet been transposed into Italian law. The social partners signed an agreement in this regard more than two years ago, but discussions with the government institutions have proceeded slowly (also because of the recent change of government). Among the most criticised aspects of the directive, the social partners complain that it does not cover self-employed workers (whose quantitative incidence in the sector is very high), while stressing its utility for improving safety in the sector.
Background
Working time for mobile workers in the road transport sector is covered by Directive on working time in the road transport sector
This Directive establishes minimum requirements in relation to the organisation of working time in order to improve the health and safety protection of persons performing mobile road transport activities and to improve road safety and align conditions of competition.. Member states were requested to implement this Directive by 23 March 2005. However, some countries have yet to transpose it.
The Directive provides a definition of the types of activities that should be included in the calculation of working time. These are: driving; loading and unloading; assisting passengers boarding and disembarking from the vehicle; cleaning and technical maintenance; and all other work intended to ensure the safety of the vehicle. It also covers the times during which a worker cannot dispose freely of their time and are required to be at their workstation. The Directive also regulates maximum weekly working time, breaks, rest periods and night work.
Unlike the working time Directive, the Directive governing working time in road transport does not allow any opt-out. This means that companies operating in this sector need to ensure that the working time of their workforce complies with the Directive. However, under Article 8 of the Directive, derogations can be made from the provisions on maximum working time and night work, for objective or techncial 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.
At present, the Directive does not apply to self-employed drivers. As it states, the European Commission will undertake a review of the situation after four years of operation. Therefore, at the latest by 23 March 2007, the European Commission will issue a report to the European Parliament and the Council analysing the consequences of the exclusion of self-employed drivers in areas such as road safety, conditions of competition, the structure of the profession and a range of social aspects. On the basis of this report, the Commission will then decide whether or not to apply the Directive to self-employed drivers from 23 March 2009.
The study
The purpose of this study is to assess the impact that Directive 2002/15/EC has had on collective bargaining in this sector in individual EU countries.
This study will examine collective bargaining and the regulation of working time in the road transport sector in individual European countries, looking at issues such as the organisation of working time, breaks, rest periods, working hours, health and safety, and the status of self-employed drivers. It will also look at whether member states have taken advantage of the derogation options, contained in the Directive, in the case of maximum working time and night work.
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)
| Employees | Self-employed | Total workforce | Co.Co.Co | Agency workers | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| males | females | total | |||||
| 60 – LAND TRANSPORT; PIPELINE TRANSPORT | 372,134 | 161,854 | 470,133 | 63,855 | 533,988 | 11,309 | 1,689 |
| of which: | |||||||
| 6021 – Other regular land transport of passengers | 101,520 | 3,575 | 98,501 | 6,594 | 105,095 | 1,259 | 874 |
| 6022 – Taxi transport | 6,002 | 18,264 | 22,744 | 1,522 | 24,266 | 297 | 15 |
| 6023 – Other non-regular road transport of passengers | 5,250 | 3,671 | 7,569 | 1,352 | 8,921 | 301 | 27 |
| 6024 – Other land transport of passengers | 2,214 | 1,808 | 3,358 | 664 | 4,022 | 183 | 2 |
| 6025 – Road transport of goods | 173,775 | 134,369 | 261,477 | 46,667 | 308,144 | 8,908 | 747 |
| 6030 – Pipeline transport | 3,572 | 10 | 3,289 | 293 | 3,582 | 4 | 4 |
Source: National Institute of Statistic (Istat), Censimento dell’industria e dei Servizi, 2001.
the types of employers operating in the sector
| up to 49 employees | from 50 to 249 employees | 250 employees and more | total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| firms | local units | firms | local units | firms | local units | firms | local units | |
| 60 - LAND TRANSPORT; PIPELINE TRANSPORT | 126,905 | 131,509 | 546 | 1,447 | 125 | 2,409 | 127,576 | 135,365 |
| of which: | ||||||||
| 6021 - Other regular land transport of passengers | 2,333 | 2,797 | 126 | 372 | 73 | 782 | 2,532 | 3,951 |
| 6022 – Taxi transport | 17,116 | 17,315 | 24 | 25 | 4 | 4 | 17,144 | 17,344 |
| 6023 - Other non-regular road transport of passengers | 2,642 | 2,936 | 12 | 27 | 0 | 0 | 2,654 | 2,963 |
| 6024 - Other land transport of passengers | 1,362 | 1,470 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1,364 | 1,473 |
| 6025 - Road transport of goods | 103,381 | 106,909 | 362 | 947 | 26 | 437 | 103,769 | 108,293 |
| 6030 – Pipeline transport | 6 | 6 | 3 | 12 | 1 | 105 | 10 | 123 |
Source: National Institute of Statistic (Istat), Censimento dell’industria e dei Servizi, 2001.
Although not particularly up to date, these figures seem to be still valid in regard to both the number of employees and the number and distribution of firms by size class. Trade-union estimates, in fact, quantify workers in the sector at around 500,000, and active enterprises at around 130,000, 85% of which are of an artisanal character. The average size of firms in the sector is estimated at 3.8 employees.
The Study Centre of the General Confederation of Transport and Logistics (Confederazione Generale dei Trasporti e della Logistica, Confetra), in a structural analysis of firms referring to 2003, reports a high degree of concentration in the sector: 10% of firms account for 60% of sales volume and 56% of value added.
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 main trade union organizations operating in the sector are the following:
- Italian Transport Workers Federation – General Confederation of Italian Workers (Federazione Italiana Lavoratori dei Trasporti - Confederazione Generale Italiana del Lavoro, FILT-CGIL), which represents workers in the air, maritime and land (road and rail) transport sector, and in the sector of auxiliary and allied transport activities. It is divided into ‘compartments’, among which is the Goods Transport and Logistics Department, according to the branch of the industry in which members work.
- Italian Transport Federation – Italian Confederation of Workers Trade Unions (Federazione Italiana Trasporti - Confederazione Italiana Sindacati Lavoratori, FIT-CISL), which represents transport, services and environmental workers.
- Italian Transport Workers Union – Union of Italian Workers (Unione Italiana dei Lavoratori dei Trasporti – Unione Italiana del Lavoro UILT-UIL), which represents workers in all branches of the transport industry.
There are other organizations representing transport workers: for example; the National Railway Workers Federation (Federazione Nazionale delle Attività Ferroviarie - Unione Generale del Lavoro Trasporti, Ugl AF), and some autonomous rank-and-file unions (e.g. Trasporti dell’Organizzazione Sindacati Autonomi e di Base - ORSA - and Trasporto merci e logistica della Federazione Autonoma Sindacati dei Trasporti - FAST). However, these are unions with scant representativeness and they do not sign the industry-wide agreement.
On the employers’ side, there are numerous associations, some of them with very restricted areas of representation. There follows a list of those signatory to the sectoral agreement.
- The General Transport and Logistics Confederation (Confederazione Generale dei Trasporti e della Logistica, CONFETRA) represents employers operating in the branches of transport, haulage, logistics, goods storage, and allied and auxiliary activities. It is structured into National Sectoral Federations, of which those for transport are: Associazione Imprese Traslocatori Italiani (AITI), Associazione Nazionale Corrieri Espressi (ASSOESPRESSI), Associazione Italiana delle Imprese di Logistica, Magazzini Generali e Magazzini Frigoriferi, (ASSOLOGISTICA), Federazione Nazionale Imprese di Spedizioni Internazionali (FEDESPEDI), Federazione Italiana Trasportatori (FEDIT), Federazione Italiana Spedizionieri Industriali (FISI).
- The Transport, Haulage and Logistics Confederation (Confederazione del Trasporto, della Spedizione e della Logistica, Conftrasporto), which belongs to the Italian General Confederation of Commerce, Tourism and Services Employers (Confederazione Generale Italiana del Commercio, del Turismo, dei Servizi, delle Professioni e delle Piccole e Medie Imprese - Confcommercio).
- The Auto-Transport Firms National Association (Associazione Nazionale Imprese Trasporti Automobilistici, ANITA), which belongs to Confindustria as a sectoral association and is one of the organizations making up Confindustria’s Federation of land transport firms (Federtrasporto). The most recent industry-wide agreement was also signed by two associations representing cooperatives and five associations of artisanal firms operating in the sector:
- The Associazione Nazionale delle Cooperative di Servizi e Turismo of the Lega delle Cooperative (ANCST-LEGACOOP), which is organized into branches to represent transport cooperatives through its goods haulage and persons’ transport branches.
- Federlavoro e Servizi of the Confederazione Cooperative Italiane (Confcooperative), which represents cooperatives through the road transport and logistics branch.
- The Associazione Nazionale Autotrasporto di Confartigianato (Confartigianato Trasporti).
- The Federazione Italiana Autotrasportatori Professionali (FIAP/M);
- The Associazione Nazionale Artigiani e Piccole e Medie Imprese Del Trasporto Merci, (FITA CNA).
- The Produzione e Lavoro section of the Associazione Generale Cooperative Italiane (AGCI).
- The Sindacato Nazionale degli Autotrasportatori di Casartigiani (SNA-Casartigiani).
- 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?
If there are agreements, how often are they renewed. What are the subjects covered : definition of working time
- working hours
- breaks
- rest periods
- controls and checks on drivers
On 9 November 2006, the above-listed associations signed the renewal of the consolidated text of the nation-wide agreement for the logistics and goods transport sectors. The agreement consisted of a general part common to the two sectors and a special part with separate regulation. The parties undertook to unify before the next renewal all the articles that do not foresee regulations specific to the two sectors. The agreement’s coverage rate is almost 100% in terms of both employees and firms.
Besides the national sectoral agreement, there are numerous accords at company level on matters envisaged by the Agreement of 23 July 1993, which also regulates renewals. The normative part of the sectoral agreement is renewed every four years, and the pay part every two years. In medium-to-large firms, the rate of coverage of the company-level bargaining is very high, being above 90%.
For personnel whose working time coincides with the time spent driving (i.e. where the job does not involve time when the worker is in service but not driving), the sectoral agreement establishes that the weekly work schedule is 39 hours as provided for travelling personnel, and which regulation 3820/85 states must be observed by the worker and the employer.
The sectoral agreement foresees additional rest periods (compared to those stipulated by the national law and the European regulations) for meals. They correspond to an hour for transfers of up to 15 hours duration, and to 2 hours (one hour for each) for transfers lasting more than 15 hours. Effective working time is calculated net of rest periods.
Goods transport workers are entitled to annual periods of working time flexibility whereby, on prior agreement with the unitary workplace union structures (Rappresentanze Sindacali Unitarie, RSU) or the local unions, the employer can establish different working time schedules. The different organization of the weekly schedule may concern both groups of workers and the firm’s entire workforce. The maximum weekly amount of flexible work may not exceed 150 annual hours, comprised within 6 months at most, and it must be recouped in periods of lower productive intensity. For logistics firms, the limits on recourse to flexible schedules are 100 annual hours and 48 weekly hours.
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.
If not, please give details of any debate about implementation, plus any likely implementation date.
Directive 2002/15/EC has not yet been transposed into Italian law.
In January 2005, after long negotiations, the employers’ associations and the trade unions signatory to the sectoral agreement signed a preliminary agreement on its application.
In the summer of 2005, the previous centre-right government had begun talks with the social partners to establish the formalities for transposing the directive, but when the then under-secretary of the Ministry of Labour, Maurizio Sacconi, had expressed his opposition to the common avis issued by the parties (which in his opinion did not comply with the guidelines set out by the directive), the talks were deadlocked.
On 7 February 2007, the centre-left government elected in April 2006 (RIF) signed a draft agreement with the sectoral employers’ associations which stated actions to be undertaken to resolve the sector’s main difficulties. Among these was transposition of Directive 2002/15/EC, for which talks with the social partners should have begun within 15 days from the signing of the draft agreement. Nevertheless, to date, no meeting has been scheduled. However, there is a bill before parliament which foresees the expiry on 30 September 2007 of the prowy laws for approval by the government of three legislative decrees concerning the implementation of as many directives, among them 15/2002. This expiry was originally fixed for 31 July 2007.
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?
The directive has not yet been transposed into Italian law (see above).
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.
The draft agreement signed by the social partners in January 2005 establishes a maximum working week of 48 hours, extendable to 60 if the average of 48 hours a week has not been exceeded over a period of six months (not four as envisaged by the directive). The draft agreement also foresees derogation from the regulations on the maximum working week for ‘discontinuous workers’, i.e. those whose work involves periods of inactivity. For such workers the normal duration of the working week is established as 47 hours, and the maximum duration as 260 hours a month from 1 January 2007, and as 245 hours a month from 1 January 2009 onwards.
As said, however, the agreement is not yet in force, and its purpose is to induce the government to transpose the directive taking account of the demands and common intents expressed by the social partners.
In any case, derogations from the maximum number of weekly work hours are envisaged for ‘discontinuous workers’ by the sectoral agreement as well, which fixes the ordinary amount at 47 hours a week and the maximum at 250 hours a month.
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.
The current sectoral agreement does not provide for derogations from the working hours established in the case of night work.
The draft agreement of January 2005, however, foresees derogations for night work by discontinuous workers, the regulation of whose schedules is referred to collective bargaining.
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
Because Directive 15/2002 has not yet been implemented in Italian law, the principal issue concerns precisely this non-transposition. The social partners are awaiting the beginning of talks with the government, which is not maintaining its commitments made when the draft agreement was signed last February 7.
The unions complain in particular about the lack of health and safety protection provided for workers by the current regulations.
b) Self-employed drivers
As regards self-employed workers, the position shared by employers and unions is that application of the directive should be extended to cover self-employed workers as soon as possible. Failure to apply the directive to such workers, of which there are a large number in Italy, when it is transposed into Italian law, would generate competition problems in the market, with firms being obliged to comply with particular constraints and self-employed workers instead enjoying a more permissive regulation.
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?
Trans-border drivers are covered by regulations 3820/85 and 561/06. There are no specific regulations.
d) Other issues
Are there any other issues of importance in your country that have not been covered above?
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.
The non-implementation in Italian law of Directive 15/2002 seems to be largely due to delays by the government institutions. More than two years ago, in fact, the social partners reached agreement on the modes of such implementation, but discussion with the government is stalled.
Various factors are responsible for this situation.
Firstly, as said above, the draft agreement signed by unions and employers comprises various elements not entirely consistent with Directive 15/2002 (for instance, the period of six rather than four months used to calculate average weekly working hours) and which would very likely be unacceptable to the EC. Also, given the proximity of the elections, one realizes that previous centre-right government preferred to postpone the resolution of the matter to after the elections. Although it does not receive much attention in the public and media debate, the issue is certainly crucial for operators in the sector (especially as regards the consequences of non-application to self-employed workers).
Secondly, implementation of the directive is only one of the many critical issues that must be resolved to improve the workings of the road transport sector. The draft agreement signed by the present centre-left government with the employers’ associations last February identified various measures to adopt ‘in order to begin a process of rationalization, structuring and size growth of firms in the sector’. To this end, the agreement states, ‘versatility will be encouraged with the aggregation and integration of enterprises, also at intersectoral level, and impetus will be given to transport operations and to the more effective application of logistics techniques in road transport’. The document also affirms that the government should include reform of the sector among its priorities for action. The sector is therefore under scrutiny, and implementation of the directive on working hours is on the agenda. However the problems to solve are numerous, and the delays in addressing them may continue (the deadline for approval of the relative legislative decree is at the moment September 2007).
Edoardo della Torre, IRES Lombardia