News

Policy Recommendations for the European Road Transport Sector
The TransFair Policy Brief highlights key findings and project outcomes, provides good practice input for inspection authorities and makes proposals for an effective and practicable regulative framework to tackle labour law infringements in cross-border road transport. The Policy Brief is available in English, German, Polish, Czech, Slovenian

Veranstaltung: Faire Arbeitsbedingungen im Transportgewerbe? Bestandsaufnahme und Einschätzungen zum EU-Mobilitätspaket
Freitag, 10. Juni 2022, 9:00 — 13:30 Uhr Faire Lohn- und Arbeitsbedingungen auf Europäischen Autobahnen – eine lange Reise! Unsichere und niedrige Entlohnung, lange stressige Arbeitstage sowie wochen- bis monatelange Abwesenheiten von zu Hause prägen das Berufsbild der Beschäftigten im Straßenverkehrssektor. Der steigende Druck auf die Arbeitsbedingungen der Fahrer:innen – viele von ihnen kommen aus Osteuropa oder Drittstaaten – führt nicht nur

Use your tachograph to document your working time!
The Belgian trade union and TransFair project partner BTB-ABVV published a booklet in 10 languages assisting drivers to use the vehicle’s tachograph to document their working, availability and driving time.

TransFair final conference: presentations
The TransFair team completed successfully the final international event “The Road to Transparent and Fair Remuneration and Working Conditions in the Transport Sector” in Gdansk. We assembled topical contributions from our excellent research team, from highly esteemed external experts, ELA, DG Move, employer organisations, trade unions and national inspection authorities. Below you find the presentations as well as some impressions

TransFair final conference: impressions
Impressions of the final international TransFair event in Gdansk

TransFair final conference in Gdansk and online on March 31-April 1, 2022
The TransFair final conference “The Road to Transparent and Fair Remuneration and Working Conditions in the TransportSector” will take place in Gdansk, hosted by our project partner Solidarność, and online. The conference assembles all project partners and participants, including representatives of the European Commission (DG Move), social partner institutions, labour and road inspectorates and researchers to discuss project outcomes and

ELA launches 2022 focus on Road Transport
The European Labour Authority concentrates its activities in 2022 on the road transport sector. Several legislative changes at European level impacting on the sector and the often problematic employment sitation of international drivers, as impressively documented throughout the TransFair project, made ELA choose this sectoral focus, improve information for stakeholders and enhance cooperation of enforcment authorities. All activities and relevant

TransFair findings in a nutshell
A newsletter briefly resumes the TransFair findings and actions. The newsletter is available in English, German, Slovenian, Czech and Polish.

Save the Date: TransFair Final Conference on March 31 — April 1, 2022
The conference assembles all project partners and participants, including representatives of social partner institutions, labour inspectors and researchers to discuss project outcomesand conclusions for future policies to safeguard labour standards in cross-border European road transport. In dialogue with key stakeholders from national, EU and international level, the final conference shall give the floor to share, disseminate and critically assess TransFair

New TransFair leaflet out
One of the main aims of the TransFair project is to provide drivers with reliable and simple information about their rights on international journeys. So far, TransFair partners have produced leaflets for drivers from Slovenia on journeys in Austria, for drivers from Poland on journeys in Germany. Now another leaflet is out providing information for drivers from Czechia on journeys

Transnational Inspectorate Workshop: the role of drivers in inspection processes
Based on the three bilateral labour inspectorate workshops, another TransFair event was held online. In the transnational workshop on September 20, 2021, we summarised findings so far about labour inspectorates’ competences, cooperation and challenges to inspect working conditions and remuneration in cross-border road transport. Moreover, Robertas Lukasevicius of the European Labour Authority gave an input about cross-border inspcetions in road

Bilateral Inspectorate Workshops: tackling international drivers’ working correct remuneration
In spring 2021, TransFair partners attended three bilateral labour inspectorate workshops (DE-PL, AT-SI, BE-CZ) to discuss tasks and challenges related to the inspection of drivers’ working conditions and correct remuneration in cross-border road transport. The bilateral workshops were attended by 8 to 27 participants including National Labour Inspectorates, trade unions, Traffic Police, Financial Police, employer organisations and social security organisations.

New TransFair report
Another TransFair report is out now! It explores working conditions and company strategies in cross-border road transport in Austria and Slovenia. Download here:

TransFair training material for transport unions
For more than one year, the TransFair project team collaborated and worked out how to better approach drivers in international transport and how to improve transport unions cross-border cooperation. The training material, authored by Sandra Stern (FORBA), provides in-depth information, best practices and tools for unions active in the transport sector to develop further their activities and endeavours.

Joint action of NSZZ ‘Solidarność’ and Faire Mobilität to distribute TransFair folder
© Faire Mobilität On July 1st the two TransFair partners were in Poland to inform truck drivers on the route from Swiecko to Poznan about their rights. The drivers they met reported that their employers would only pay the Polish minimum wage of 2,800 Zlt (€620). The wage would not be adjusted even if they drove tours in Germany. This

More leaflets for drivers
In the Slovenian-Austrian tandem meeting that took place online on April 6, an information leaflet for drivers of Slovenian companies on Austrian territory was presented. The leaflet provides information about minimum wage entitlements in Austria. It is available in Slovenian, BHS, English and German. The leaflets can be downloaded here: DE SLO BHS ENG

Third country nationals in the Czech transport sector
In Czechia, the recruitment of third country nationals into the Czech economy, including the transport sector, is of vital importance due to a massive labour shortage. Governemental programmes allow for the targetted recruitment of workers from third countries. The TransFair research found out that drivers from third countries can experience various forms of non-compliant employer behaviour: they were forced to

Third country nationals and temporary agencies in the Polish transport sector
TransFair’s first country specific report deals with employment regulation, recruitment practices and working conditions of third country nationals in Polish road freight transport. Third country nationals, mainly from Ukraine, have become key personnel in the Polish road transport industry and are a constitutive element of Polish hauliers’ competitive advantage in the EU, mainly due to the low labour costs. Recruitment

The quantitative dimension of road freight transport in Europe — a summary
Lynn de Smedt and Frederic De Wispeleare provided and extensive report about the quantitative dimension and economic relations in the European freight transport market. A concise summary, including illustrative graphs about economic relations in the road freight sector between Austria and Slovenia, the Czech Republic and Belgium as well as Germany and Poland can be found in the following publication:

Leaflet for drivers on international journeys
Faire Mobilität and Solidarność have published a leaflet for lorry drivers on international journeys. The leaflet provides information about minimum wage, practical tips for documenting working time and contact points for drivers’ support in Germany and Poland. The leaflet is distributed in reach-out activities on the road.

First TransFair Report online
Lynn de Smedt and Frederic De Wispeleare concluded the first TransFair project output. They examined the quantitative dimension and economic relations in the European freight transport market: “Road freight transport in the EU. In serach of a balance between the economic and social dimension of the internal market. A quantitative sectoral analysis”

News from the EU II: van den Bosch judgement by the CJEU
The European Court of Justice finally reached a verdict in the case Van den Bosch vs FNV (C‑815/18). The court decided that transport workers fall under the Posting of Workers Directive, however a sufficient connection to the territory of the workers’ receiving country must be proved to benefit from the labour protection of this state. You can find the whole verdict

News from the EU I: driving and rest times — a guideline
The mobility package has been approved and some of the regulations are in place since August 20, 2020. To keep an overview over the new regulations, the European Commission, published Q&As to pressing topics, such as the return of the driver to “home”, weekly rests, multi-manning and breaks or manual recording of border crossing. https://ec.europa.eu/transport/modes/road/mobility-package-qa_en?utm_source=ETF+Contacts+Database&utm_campaign=69568a90a9-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_11_30_04_10&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_a3110b567d-69568a90a9-114885869

TransFair Transnational Union Workshop — Online!
On October 1, TransFair’s first transnational workshop took place. It gathered all consortium members, unions and research institutions from Austria, Slovenia, Germany, Poland, Belgium and Czechia. In the transnational online workshop, TransFair partners exchanged about new research findings on the European road transport sector, its quantitative dimension, the role of third country nationals in Polish road transport and the different

Slovenian media coverage of the TransFair action
The TransFair action that was jointly organised by the Austrian union vida and the Slovenian union nsds received particular public attention. Find in the links below, a broadcasting contribution and a newspaper article bringing interviews with the two transport unions and main messages of the action to a wider audience. tvhttps://www.rtvslo.si/gospodarstvo/veliko-soferjev-ne-dobi-placila-za-opravljeno-delo-delodajalci-placajo-kolikor-sami-zelijo/534857?fbclid=IwAR03bT_q4h0Y3rr3XDJ6oOjXFOu9UZnMXDvS5gQQQX5SphTUhhE61XL0Eyo newspaper articlehttps://www.vecer.com/vozniki-tovornjakov-oskodovani-za-300-do-500-evrov-na-mesec-10215198

TransFair Union action in Slovenia
On September 1st, 2020, TransFair partners arranged an information action for truck drivers on international transport journeys. The Slovenian union nsds and the Austrian union vida met for a joint action on the highway next to Prepolje near the Austrian-Slovenian border to provide truck drivers with information about minimum wage entitlements when they work abroad. Many of the drivers coming

Legislative acts of Mobility Package officially in force
On July 31st, the legislative acts negotiated within the so called Mobility Package have been published in the Official Journal of the European Union. They concern: rest and driving periods for drivers, new provisions for introducing the smart tachograph, new provisions concerning access to the international road haulage market and concerning conditions to be complied with to pursue the occupation

Mobility Package approved by the European Parliament
After a very long period of negotiations, the mobility package for road transport has been approved by the European parliament on July 8, 2020. It will bring new regulations for posting of workers in road transport, new regulations for drivers’ rest time and new measures to detect letter-box companies in road transport. Here, you find the links to the adopted

Faire Mobilität on the road
Regularly, Faire Mobilität, our German project partner, engages in informing and getting into conversation with international drivers. On June 20, they distributed new information material: Click here to open Facebook Post (German)

Video Clip by FNV “How Van den Bosch Transporten works”
The Dutch union FNV is one of the parties in the “van den Bosch Transporten” case currently at stake at the European Court of Justice (see: Post “Posting of drivers before the ECJ”). The case deals with the question if posting of workers rules should also be applicable to truck drivers that carry out international transports. Click here for FNV’s

TransFair continues during Covid-19 crisis
Despite the Covid-19 crisis, TransFair activities continue. The first joint visit between partners from Poland and Germany, Solidarnos´c and Faire Mobilität, has taken place in the beginning of May. In an online conference, a common leaflet for drivers was discussed. The Austrian-Slovenian tandem met virtually as well. Nsds, vida and FORBA, exchanged union experiences during the Covid-crisis and prepared steps

Extension of driving times during the Corona crisis
Truck drivers are among the “system-relevant” professions, not only in Corona times. In order to ensure the free movement and supply of goods even now, drivers have to work under difficult conditions that are hazardous to health. Instead of improved and safer working conditions and the recognition of the “system relevance” of their activity, drivers are confronted with an extension

Posting of drivers before the ECJ
Will the van den Bosch case before the ECJ clarify whether and which cross-border road transport services are subject to the posting of workers directive? On April 30, the advocate general published its opinion concerning the van den Bosch Transporten vs.Federatie Nederlandse Vakbeweging case. Principally, he confirms that the directive 96/71/EC (“posting of workers directive”) also applies to a worker

TransFair Kick-off Meeting
The TransFair kick-off meeting took place in Vienna on February 21st and 22nd 2020 at the premises of the union vida. It was a lively gathering assembling all the project partners — unions, researchers, workers support organisations from Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Germany, Poland, and Slovenia.The coordinating team presented main project aims and the ambitious schedule, including qualitative and

Policy Recommendations for the European Road Transport Sector
The TransFair Policy Brief highlights key findings and project outcomes, provides good practice input for inspection authorities and makes proposals for an effective and practicable regulative framework to tackle labour law infringements in cross-border road transport. The Policy Brief is available in English, German, Polish, Czech, Slovenian

Veranstaltung: Faire Arbeitsbedingungen im Transportgewerbe? Bestandsaufnahme und Einschätzungen zum EU-Mobilitätspaket
Freitag, 10. Juni 2022, 9:00 — 13:30 Uhr Faire Lohn- und Arbeitsbedingungen auf Europäischen Autobahnen – eine lange Reise! Unsichere und niedrige Entlohnung, lange stressige Arbeitstage sowie wochen- bis monatelange Abwesenheiten von zu Hause prägen das Berufsbild der Beschäftigten im Straßenverkehrssektor. Der steigende Druck auf die Arbeitsbedingungen der Fahrer:innen – viele von ihnen kommen aus Osteuropa oder Drittstaaten – führt nicht nur

Use your tachograph to document your working time!
The Belgian trade union and TransFair project partner BTB-ABVV published a booklet in 10 languages assisting drivers to use the vehicle’s tachograph to document their working, availability and driving time.

TransFair final conference: presentations
The TransFair team completed successfully the final international event “The Road to Transparent and Fair Remuneration and Working Conditions in the Transport Sector” in Gdansk. We assembled topical contributions from our excellent research team, from highly esteemed external experts, ELA, DG Move, employer organisations, trade unions and national inspection authorities. Below you find the presentations as well as some impressions

TransFair final conference: impressions
Impressions of the final international TransFair event in Gdansk

TransFair final conference in Gdansk and online on March 31-April 1, 2022
The TransFair final conference “The Road to Transparent and Fair Remuneration and Working Conditions in the TransportSector” will take place in Gdansk, hosted by our project partner Solidarność, and online. The conference assembles all project partners and participants, including representatives of the European Commission (DG Move), social partner institutions, labour and road inspectorates and researchers to discuss project outcomes and

ELA launches 2022 focus on Road Transport
The European Labour Authority concentrates its activities in 2022 on the road transport sector. Several legislative changes at European level impacting on the sector and the often problematic employment sitation of international drivers, as impressively documented throughout the TransFair project, made ELA choose this sectoral focus, improve information for stakeholders and enhance cooperation of enforcment authorities. All activities and relevant

TransFair findings in a nutshell
A newsletter briefly resumes the TransFair findings and actions. The newsletter is available in English, German, Slovenian, Czech and Polish.

Save the Date: TransFair Final Conference on March 31 — April 1, 2022
The conference assembles all project partners and participants, including representatives of social partner institutions, labour inspectors and researchers to discuss project outcomesand conclusions for future policies to safeguard labour standards in cross-border European road transport. In dialogue with key stakeholders from national, EU and international level, the final conference shall give the floor to share, disseminate and critically assess TransFair

New TransFair leaflet out
One of the main aims of the TransFair project is to provide drivers with reliable and simple information about their rights on international journeys. So far, TransFair partners have produced leaflets for drivers from Slovenia on journeys in Austria, for drivers from Poland on journeys in Germany. Now another leaflet is out providing information for drivers from Czechia on journeys

Transnational Inspectorate Workshop: the role of drivers in inspection processes
Based on the three bilateral labour inspectorate workshops, another TransFair event was held online. In the transnational workshop on September 20, 2021, we summarised findings so far about labour inspectorates’ competences, cooperation and challenges to inspect working conditions and remuneration in cross-border road transport. Moreover, Robertas Lukasevicius of the European Labour Authority gave an input about cross-border inspcetions in road

Bilateral Inspectorate Workshops: tackling international drivers’ working correct remuneration
In spring 2021, TransFair partners attended three bilateral labour inspectorate workshops (DE-PL, AT-SI, BE-CZ) to discuss tasks and challenges related to the inspection of drivers’ working conditions and correct remuneration in cross-border road transport. The bilateral workshops were attended by 8 to 27 participants including National Labour Inspectorates, trade unions, Traffic Police, Financial Police, employer organisations and social security organisations.

New TransFair report
Another TransFair report is out now! It explores working conditions and company strategies in cross-border road transport in Austria and Slovenia. Download here:

TransFair training material for transport unions
For more than one year, the TransFair project team collaborated and worked out how to better approach drivers in international transport and how to improve transport unions cross-border cooperation. The training material, authored by Sandra Stern (FORBA), provides in-depth information, best practices and tools for unions active in the transport sector to develop further their activities and endeavours.

Joint action of NSZZ ‘Solidarność’ and Faire Mobilität to distribute TransFair folder
© Faire Mobilität On July 1st the two TransFair partners were in Poland to inform truck drivers on the route from Swiecko to Poznan about their rights. The drivers they met reported that their employers would only pay the Polish minimum wage of 2,800 Zlt (€620). The wage would not be adjusted even if they drove tours in Germany. This

More leaflets for drivers
In the Slovenian-Austrian tandem meeting that took place online on April 6, an information leaflet for drivers of Slovenian companies on Austrian territory was presented. The leaflet provides information about minimum wage entitlements in Austria. It is available in Slovenian, BHS, English and German. The leaflets can be downloaded here: DE SLO BHS ENG

Third country nationals in the Czech transport sector
In Czechia, the recruitment of third country nationals into the Czech economy, including the transport sector, is of vital importance due to a massive labour shortage. Governemental programmes allow for the targetted recruitment of workers from third countries. The TransFair research found out that drivers from third countries can experience various forms of non-compliant employer behaviour: they were forced to

Third country nationals and temporary agencies in the Polish transport sector
TransFair’s first country specific report deals with employment regulation, recruitment practices and working conditions of third country nationals in Polish road freight transport. Third country nationals, mainly from Ukraine, have become key personnel in the Polish road transport industry and are a constitutive element of Polish hauliers’ competitive advantage in the EU, mainly due to the low labour costs. Recruitment

The quantitative dimension of road freight transport in Europe — a summary
Lynn de Smedt and Frederic De Wispeleare provided and extensive report about the quantitative dimension and economic relations in the European freight transport market. A concise summary, including illustrative graphs about economic relations in the road freight sector between Austria and Slovenia, the Czech Republic and Belgium as well as Germany and Poland can be found in the following publication:

Leaflet for drivers on international journeys
Faire Mobilität and Solidarność have published a leaflet for lorry drivers on international journeys. The leaflet provides information about minimum wage, practical tips for documenting working time and contact points for drivers’ support in Germany and Poland. The leaflet is distributed in reach-out activities on the road.

First TransFair Report online
Lynn de Smedt and Frederic De Wispeleare concluded the first TransFair project output. They examined the quantitative dimension and economic relations in the European freight transport market: “Road freight transport in the EU. In serach of a balance between the economic and social dimension of the internal market. A quantitative sectoral analysis”

News from the EU II: van den Bosch judgement by the CJEU
The European Court of Justice finally reached a verdict in the case Van den Bosch vs FNV (C‑815/18). The court decided that transport workers fall under the Posting of Workers Directive, however a sufficient connection to the territory of the workers’ receiving country must be proved to benefit from the labour protection of this state. You can find the whole verdict

News from the EU I: driving and rest times — a guideline
The mobility package has been approved and some of the regulations are in place since August 20, 2020. To keep an overview over the new regulations, the European Commission, published Q&As to pressing topics, such as the return of the driver to “home”, weekly rests, multi-manning and breaks or manual recording of border crossing. https://ec.europa.eu/transport/modes/road/mobility-package-qa_en?utm_source=ETF+Contacts+Database&utm_campaign=69568a90a9-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_11_30_04_10&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_a3110b567d-69568a90a9-114885869

TransFair Transnational Union Workshop — Online!
On October 1, TransFair’s first transnational workshop took place. It gathered all consortium members, unions and research institutions from Austria, Slovenia, Germany, Poland, Belgium and Czechia. In the transnational online workshop, TransFair partners exchanged about new research findings on the European road transport sector, its quantitative dimension, the role of third country nationals in Polish road transport and the different

Slovenian media coverage of the TransFair action
The TransFair action that was jointly organised by the Austrian union vida and the Slovenian union nsds received particular public attention. Find in the links below, a broadcasting contribution and a newspaper article bringing interviews with the two transport unions and main messages of the action to a wider audience. tvhttps://www.rtvslo.si/gospodarstvo/veliko-soferjev-ne-dobi-placila-za-opravljeno-delo-delodajalci-placajo-kolikor-sami-zelijo/534857?fbclid=IwAR03bT_q4h0Y3rr3XDJ6oOjXFOu9UZnMXDvS5gQQQX5SphTUhhE61XL0Eyo newspaper articlehttps://www.vecer.com/vozniki-tovornjakov-oskodovani-za-300-do-500-evrov-na-mesec-10215198

TransFair Union action in Slovenia
On September 1st, 2020, TransFair partners arranged an information action for truck drivers on international transport journeys. The Slovenian union nsds and the Austrian union vida met for a joint action on the highway next to Prepolje near the Austrian-Slovenian border to provide truck drivers with information about minimum wage entitlements when they work abroad. Many of the drivers coming

Legislative acts of Mobility Package officially in force
On July 31st, the legislative acts negotiated within the so called Mobility Package have been published in the Official Journal of the European Union. They concern: rest and driving periods for drivers, new provisions for introducing the smart tachograph, new provisions concerning access to the international road haulage market and concerning conditions to be complied with to pursue the occupation

Mobility Package approved by the European Parliament
After a very long period of negotiations, the mobility package for road transport has been approved by the European parliament on July 8, 2020. It will bring new regulations for posting of workers in road transport, new regulations for drivers’ rest time and new measures to detect letter-box companies in road transport. Here, you find the links to the adopted

Faire Mobilität on the road
Regularly, Faire Mobilität, our German project partner, engages in informing and getting into conversation with international drivers. On June 20, they distributed new information material: Click here to open Facebook Post (German)

Video Clip by FNV “How Van den Bosch Transporten works”
The Dutch union FNV is one of the parties in the “van den Bosch Transporten” case currently at stake at the European Court of Justice (see: Post “Posting of drivers before the ECJ”). The case deals with the question if posting of workers rules should also be applicable to truck drivers that carry out international transports. Click here for FNV’s

TransFair continues during Covid-19 crisis
Despite the Covid-19 crisis, TransFair activities continue. The first joint visit between partners from Poland and Germany, Solidarnos´c and Faire Mobilität, has taken place in the beginning of May. In an online conference, a common leaflet for drivers was discussed. The Austrian-Slovenian tandem met virtually as well. Nsds, vida and FORBA, exchanged union experiences during the Covid-crisis and prepared steps

Extension of driving times during the Corona crisis
Truck drivers are among the “system-relevant” professions, not only in Corona times. In order to ensure the free movement and supply of goods even now, drivers have to work under difficult conditions that are hazardous to health. Instead of improved and safer working conditions and the recognition of the “system relevance” of their activity, drivers are confronted with an extension

Posting of drivers before the ECJ
Will the van den Bosch case before the ECJ clarify whether and which cross-border road transport services are subject to the posting of workers directive? On April 30, the advocate general published its opinion concerning the van den Bosch Transporten vs.Federatie Nederlandse Vakbeweging case. Principally, he confirms that the directive 96/71/EC (“posting of workers directive”) also applies to a worker

TransFair Kick-off Meeting
The TransFair kick-off meeting took place in Vienna on February 21st and 22nd 2020 at the premises of the union vida. It was a lively gathering assembling all the project partners — unions, researchers, workers support organisations from Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Germany, Poland, and Slovenia.The coordinating team presented main project aims and the ambitious schedule, including qualitative and