On the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EC) No 561/2006 as regards minimum requirements on minimum breaks and daily and weekly rest periods in the occasional passenger transport sector

PA_Legam

AMENDMENTS

The Committee on Employment and Social Affairs calls on the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs, as the committee responsible, to take the following into account:

Amendment 1

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 1

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(1) Good working conditions for drivers and fair business conditions for road transport undertakings are of paramount importance to create an efficient, safe and socially accountable road transport sector, ensure non-discrimination and attract qualified workers. It is therefore essential that Union social rules on road transport are clear, proportionate, fit for purpose, easy to apply, and easy to enforce and implemented in an effective and consistent manner throughout the Union.

(1) Good working conditions for drivers and fair business conditions for road transport undertakings are of paramount importance to create an efficient, safe and socially accountable road transport sector, ensure non-discrimination and attract qualified workers. It is therefore essential that Union social rules on road transport are clear, proportionate, fit for purpose, easy to apply, and easy to implement and enforce in an effective and consistent manner throughout the Union.

Or. en

Amendment 2

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 3

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(3) However, the specificities of the occasional road passenger transport sector are not shared by the road freight transport or the regular road passenger transport sector. Occasional road passenger transport is characterised by high seasonality and different lengths of time spent driving which depend on the touristic activities undertaken by passengers. It needs to accommodate unscheduled and impromptu requests from passengers in terms of additional stops and changes of the route or the schedule, wherever feasible. Occasional road passenger transport generally involves less driving time when compared to freight transport or regular bus services. In addition drivers usually sleep in hotels, and seldom drive at night. On the other hand, drivers during the working time may be subject to some additional activities, often resulting from interactions with passengers.

(3) However, the specificities of the occasional road passenger transport sector are not shared by the road freight transport or the regular road passenger transport sector. Occasional road passenger transport is characterised by high seasonality and different lengths of time spent driving which depend on the activities undertaken by passengers. It needs to accommodate unscheduled and impromptu requests from passengers in terms of additional stops and changes of the route or the schedule, wherever feasible. Occasional road passenger transport generally involves less driving time when compared to freight transport or regular bus services. In addition drivers usually sleep in hotels, and drive less at night. On the other hand, drivers may be subject to some additional activities, often resulting from interactions with passengers.

Or. en

Amendment 3

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 4

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(4) The ex post evaluation of Regulation (EC) No 561/2006 concluded that some of the uniform rules related to minimum breaks and rest periods do not fit the specificities of occasional road passenger transport services. Further assessments undertaken by the Commission in that respect have shown that some of the requirements of Regulation (EC) No 561/2006 on breaks and daily and weekly rest periods are unsuitable and impractical for drivers and operators engaged in the occasional road carriage of passengers, as they have a negative impact on the ability to organise efficient and high-quality occasional passenger services, on the working conditions of drivers, and consequently on road safety.

(4) The ex post evaluation of Regulation (EC) No 561/2006 concluded that some of the uniform rules related to minimum breaks and rest periods do not fit the specificities of occasional road passenger transport services. Further assessments undertaken by the Commission in that respect have shown that some of the requirements of Regulation (EC) No 561/2006 on breaks and daily and weekly rest periods are unsuitable and impractical for drivers and operators engaged in the occasional road carriage of passengers, as they have a negative impact on the ability to organise efficient and high-quality occasional passenger services and the working conditions of drivers.

Or. en

Amendment 4

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 6

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(6) More flexible rules in the scheduling of the breaks and rest periods of drivers engaged in occasional road passenger transport services should in no way jeopardise the safety of drivers, road safety, increase the level of fatigue of drivers or lead to a deterioration in working conditions. Such flexibility should therefore not alter the current rules on the total minimum breaks, on maximum driving periods per day and per week and on the maximum fortnightly driving time.

(6) More flexible rules in the scheduling of the breaks and rest periods of drivers engaged in occasional road passenger transport services should in no way jeopardise the safety of drivers or road safety, increase the level of fatigue of drivers or lead to a deterioration in working conditions. Such flexibility should therefore not alter the current rules on the total minimum breaks, on maximum driving periods per day and per week and on the maximum fortnightly driving time.

Or. en

Amendment 5

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 8

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(8) More flexibility in the scheduling of breaks for drivers engaged in occasional road passenger transport services should not prevent those drivers from taking breaks of the minimum duration necessary to enable them to rest properly. Therefore, it is appropriate to set a minimum duration for each break. Therefore, drivers engaged in occasional road passenger transport services should be allowed to split their obligatory break into three separate breaks of at least 15 minutes each, in addition to the other possibility of splitting a break.

(8) In order to ensure proper rest time for drivers engaged in occasional road passenger transport services it is appropriate to set a minimum duration for each break. Drivers engaged in occasional road passenger transport services should be allowed to split their obligatory break into maximum two separate breaks of at least 15 minutes each. More flexibility in the scheduling of these breaks, however, should not prevent drivers from having breaks longer than the required minimum duration.

Or. en

Amendment 6

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 8 a (new)

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(8a) Drivers should also be able to postpone the start of their daily rest periods for a maximum period of one hour, in cases where the driving period for that day has not exceeded seven hours, provided they are carrying out journeys of eight days or longer. Such flexibility should not jeopardise road safety and be further limited to only one derogation during the period of the journey.

Or. en

Amendment 7

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 9

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(9) To ensure that greater flexibility in the scheduling of rest periods of drivers engaged in occasional road passenger transport services is not abused, it is essential to clearly delimit the scope of such flexibility and also to provide for appropriate checks. Drivers should therefore be able to postpone the start of their daily rest periods for a maximum period of 1 or 2 hours, in cases where the driving period for that day has not exceeded 5 or 7 hours respectively, and should postpone the start only when carrying out journeys of 8 days or longer. Such flexibility should be further limited to only one of each derogation during the period of the tour. It should be also possible to counter check such circumstances with a printout from the recording equipment or the duty roster, in addition to the tachograph records.

(9) To ensure that greater flexibility in the scheduling of rest periods of drivers engaged in occasional road passenger transport services is not abused, it is essential to clearly limit the scope of such flexibility and also to provide for appropriate checks by the European Labour Authority (ELA) and national competent authorities. With a view to effective and efficient enforcement, administrative requirements should be established, that take full advantage of digital tools. In addition to the tachograph records, a digital journey form should be electronically registered prior to the start of an international journey. The digital forms should be accessible in real time during road side checks and be solely used for controls and enforcement. For this purpose the Commission should develop a multilingual interface on the basis of the IMI system to allow operators to upload their digital journey forms. Social partners at Union and national level can play an essential role in improving the enforcement of existing regulations. They should be invited to undertake joint actions, develop guidelines and issue recommendations in this regard.

Or. en

Amendment 8

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 10

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(10) Limiting the possibility to postpone the weekly rest period for up to 12 consecutive 24-hour periods exclusively to occasional international passenger services has a negative impact in terms of undistorted and fair competition between operators, especially small and medium enterprises. Occasional national passenger services might as well provide their services under the same conditions as occasional international passenger services in terms of the distance travelled or the duration or services rendered to passengers. Occasional national passenger services should therefore also benefit from such possibility.

deleted

Or. en

Amendment 9

Proposal for a regulation

Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 1 a (new)

Regulation (EC) No 561/2006

Article 7 – paragraph 2

Present text

Amendment

(1a) in Article 7, the second paragraph is amended as follows:

This break may be replaced by a break of at least 15 minutes followed by a break of at least 30 minutes each distributed over the period in such a way as to comply with the provisions of the first paragraph.

This break may be replaced by maximum two breaks of at least 15 minutes each distributed over the period in such a way as to comply with the provisions of the first paragraph;

Or. en

Amendment 10

Proposal for a regulation

Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 2

Regulation (EC) No 561/2006

Article 7 – paragraph 4

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(2) in Article 7, the following fourth paragraph is added:

deleted

For a driver engaged in an occasional passenger service the break referred to in the first paragraph may also be replaced by three breaks of at least 15 minutes each, distributed over the driving period referred to in the first paragraph, in such a way as to comply with the first paragraph.;

Or. en

Justification

The text on not jeopardising road safety is moved to a recital where it is viewed more appropriate.

Amendment 11

Proposal for a regulation

Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 3 – point a

Regulation (EC) No 561/2006

Article 8 – paragraph 2a – subparagraph 1 – point b

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(b) postponing the daily rest period by at most 2 hours, provided that the total accumulated driving time for that day has not exceeded 5 hours.

deleted

Or. en

Amendment 12

Proposal for a regulation

Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 3 – point a

Regulation (EC) No 561/2006

Article 8 – paragraph 2a – subparagraph 2

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

Each of the derogations referred to in the first subparagraph, points (a) and (b), may be used only once during the journey referred to in the first subparagraph.

Such derogation may be used only once during the journey referred to in the first subparagraph.

Or. en

Amendment 13

Proposal for a regulation

Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 3 – point a

Regulation (EC) No 561/2006

Article 8– paragraph 2a – subparagraph 3

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

The driver shall indicate the reason for such derogation, manually on the record sheet of the recording equipment, on a printout from the recording equipment or in the duty roster, at the latest on arrival at the destination or at the suitable stopping place.

The driver shall indicate the reason for such derogation, manually on the record sheet of the recording equipment, on a printout from the recording equipment or in the duty roster, at the latest on arrival at the destination or at a suitable stopping place.

Or. en

Amendment 14

Proposal for a regulation

Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 3 – point b – introductory part

Regulation (EC) No 561/2006

Article 8 – paragraph 6a – introductory part and point a

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(b) in paragraph 6a, the introductory phrase and point (a) are replaced by the following:

deleted

By way of derogation from paragraph 6, a driver engaged in a single occasional passenger service may postpone the weekly rest period for up to 12 consecutive 24-hour periods following a previous regular weekly rest period, provided that:

(a) the service lasts at least 24 consecutive hours;.

Or. en

Amendment 15

Proposal for a regulation

Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 3 – point b a (new)

Regulation (EC) No 561/2006

Article 8 – paragraph 6a – paragraph 1 – point d a (new)

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(ba) in paragraph 6a, point (da) is inserted:

(da) a digital journey form including all features specified in Regulation (EC) No 1073/2009has been electronically registered prior to the start of the journey.

Or. en

ANNEX: LIST OF ENTITIES OR PERSONS FROM WHOM THE RAPPORTEUR FOR THE OPINION HAS RECEIVED INPUT

- ETF - European Transport Federation

- IRU - International Road Transport Union

- 3F Transport, Danish Trade Union

- Ver.di, German Trade Union