News

FNV wins two lawsuits against Deliveroo

January 15, 2019 - 16:20

Today the court in Amsterdam ruled in two lawsuits filed by trade union FNV against food delivery company Deliveroo. The judge upheld the FNV’s claims in both cases. The union filed a lawsuit against Deliveroo because the company engaged in bogus self-employed. In 2018, the company decided that all couriers had to become become freelancers […]

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On 10 January the Transport Committee of the European Parliament will hold a hugely important vote. Their agreement about the EU Mobility Package will have a major impact on bus and truck drivers’ work and rest schedules, on their wages, and on the safety of all road users in Europe. Ahead of this vote, the […]

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On 12-13 December, the ETF Youth Committee gathered in Istanbul, Turkey, to discuss the challenges facing young transport workers across Europe. As part of our Fair Transport campaign, the committee also met with a delegation of young Turkish workers. Hailing from different parts of the transport sector, 10 highly-committed young workers representing ETF-affiliated unions BTS, […]

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As part of maritime union RMT’s campaign for more jobs for domestic ratings on the Irish Sea the union is holding a Day of Action against Irish Ferries on Monday 26 November with a protest as follows: Irish Ferries: from midday, Holyhead Port, Anglesey LL65 1DR. The union has obtained evidence that a Latvian Ordinary […]

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700 employees working for the Norwegian ferry company Color Line can finally breathe again. After strong pressure from union representatives and federations, the Norwegian government has decided that Color Line will not flag out. This means the profitable shipping company cannot replace Norwegian seamen with cheaper foreign labour. Unrest at the ferry company flared up […]

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Social dumping and major grey areas in road transport legislation have led to unhealthy competition and major problems in the Swedish road haulage industry. The Swedish Transport Workers’ Union and Ikea have for some time conducted a constructive dialogue to address problems in Ikea’s supply chains in Sweden and the Nordic region. The background is […]

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Coordinated action between transport unions in Denmark and the Netherlands has revealed the exploitation of Filipino truck drivers on European roads. With union help, the police managed to bring nine drivers to safety. They now have formal status as victims of human trafficking and are under the protection of the Dutch authorities. Last week, Fagbladet […]

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Belgian authorities are moving to close lorry parks on the country’s motorways, citing “security concerns”. But what does this mean for drivers who need to take their rest? Belgium is a major route for trans-European road transit, and closing these vital rest spaces can ruin a driver’s schedule. What’s more, if truck drivers can’t take their […]

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Through its Bulgarian subsidiary Rematra, RMT employed Bulgarian drivers in Belgium, but not at Belgian wage and employment conditions. Now, almost 3.5 years later, the Labour Court of Hasselt, in its judgement of 11 October 2018, ruled fully in favour of the Belgian Transport Federation. The Bulgarian drivers are entitled to the difference with the […]

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German chocolate for Fair Transport

October 6, 2018 - 12:23

On 4 October 2018, Railway workers and their unions had a pan-European action day where workers and union activists mobilised to keep skilled staff on our trains. “You’re Welcome” was the slogan of the action day, echoing the million helpful encounters that European train staff have with their passengers every day. ETF affiliates from Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, […]

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For the second time, the International Transport Federation (ITF) had to help Russian crew anchored south of Skagen, in Denmark. After months of wrangling, 324.370 US dollars in unpaid wages have now been paid to the crew of 19 of the Turkish/Russian ship ‘Natig Aliyev’. This time the money is not paid by the shipping […]

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An ETF delegation had a productive meeting with Spanish Secretary General for Transport María José Rallo. The ETF maritime section supported Spanish affiliates FSC-CCOO and FeSMC-UGT in their call to the Spanish Ministry of transport to increase crew complement on board of vessels involved in maritime Search and Rescue operations. The Spanish Secretary General for […]

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In an appeal between trade union FNV and IKEA subcontractor Brinkman Trans Holland, a Dutch court has decided that national labour rules must also apply to foreign drivers that are running freight operations from the Netherlands. “This is a very important decision for international road transport”, says FNV spokesperson Edwin Ateman. “IKEA has Brinkman doing […]

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Seafaring unions from Ireland and the UK have launched a new offensive to halt the decline of employment opportunities for their national residents. Over the last 30 years, the number of UK ratings in the merchant navy has fallen by two thirds. The reason for this drastic fall is the persistent problem of social dumping […]

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Justice for DHL workers in Turkey

July 24, 2018 - 09:04

The campaign for Fair Transport has scored a new victory. After months of dispute, DHL Express Turkey is finally willing to enter into negotiations with the workers’ representatives of the TÜMTIS union. In September 2017, DP-DHL made a global promise to recognise unions everywhere. But when TÜMTIS started organising at the company, 9 workers were […]

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Belgian transport workers’ union BTB-UBT displayed its creative approach to campaigning with a simultaneous action in Brussels and Strasbourg. The actions coincided with the important vote in the European Parliament on the EU Mobility Package. The outcome of the vote was proof positive that months of concerted union effort can bring results at the heart […]

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Everyday thousands of Romanian truckers are on our roads, driving for Western European transporters who own a (letterbox) company somewhere in Central-Eastern Europe. They are forced to live like nomads in their truck for months at a time, and are not paid the wages they deserve. As the following news reports make clear, strong trade […]

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The UK National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) is running a national maritime campaign called SOS2020, providing a significant contribution to the ETF Fair Transport and Fair Shipping Campaigns. The SOS2020 campaign is fighting against social dumping in UK shipping. Many UK seafarers, especially ratings, are facing more and more unfair competition which […]

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Trade unionists in France are organising actions in support of the ETF’s Fair Shipping Campaign. This campaign, as part of Fair Transport Europe, strives for the creation of a European maritime space without social dumping and decent terms and conditions for all crew. At the moment, working conditions for crew are determined by the country […]

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Cette lutte, c’est une lutte légitime! This struggle is a just struggle! With those words, ETF Rail President, Giorgio Tuti brought the solidarity of European trade unions to French railway workers protesting on 22 March – just days before the launch of rolling strike action against President Macron’s liberalising reforms and unjust changes in working conditions. […]

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A meeting in Bad Goisern, Austria, saw unions from four countries discuss how to incorporate the Fair Transport Campaign into their work on railways. Meeting on 26-28 February 2018, the Steering Committee for Cross-Border Cooperation drew workers representatives from the unions OSZ (Czech Republic), SSSLO (Slovenia), EVG (Germany) and ÖGB (Austria). Due to the increasing […]

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