PRESS RELEASE, 26.06.2017: UNTRR calls on the French Government to apply the principle of equal payment for the same services in the same place also to foreign road hauliers
26.06.2017
Press release
UNTRR calls on the French Government to apply the principle of equal payment for the same services in the same place also to foreign road hauliers
The National Union of Road Hauliers from Romania (UNTRR) asks the French Government to apply the reference cost of the French National Road Committee (cnr.fr) also to foreign road hauliers conducting operations to / from or cabotage in France, by respecting, including by the companies, of the principle of equal payment for the same services in the same place.
We remind you that on the 10th of July 2014, Law No.2014-790 was adopted in France regarding the fight against unfair social competition that prevents drivers from performing the normal weekly rest period in the vehicle’s cabin.
Violation of this law is considered to be criminal offense and is punishable by a fine of EUR 30,000 and one year of imprisonment. At the same time, starting from 1st of July 2016, France adopted the Macron law, which imposed foreign road hauliers to pay drivers with the minimum French wage, amounting EUR 9.76 gross per hour.
All these measures are leading to increased operating costs for Romanian and Eastern road hauliers, with the aim of reducing their competitiveness and ultimately remove them from the market. The French Government is thus seeking to protect its own carriers and employees, against the European Single Market.
In this regard, UNTRR calls on the French authorities to no longer apply the legislation in a selective way and asks for the foreign road hauliers to be able to benefit from the same rights as French transport companies, such as the reference cost law. According to the French National Road Committee (cnr.fr), French trucks of 40 tons with tarpaulin and refrigeration have a reference cost of about 1.25 euro/km and 1.35 euro/km, plus the margin of the company of minimum 0.15 euro/km, being known that French firms are working at rates that are above 1.5 euro/km.
UNTRR request the support of the French Embassy in Bucharest and the support of the Romanian Embassy in Paris in order to obtain answers from the new French Government, considering that, indeed, the new President, the new Parliament and the new Government of France differ from the previous ones, as presented so far.
Romanian road hauliers go to France with 1 euro/km and with one driver per truck they can drive a minimum of 12,000 km per month in Western Europe, with all legal requirements. If Romanian companies, working on the same routes, would get a fare increased with 0.5 euro/km - it would result an extra EUR 6,000 per month, out of which they would be able to pay extra for the driver and the accommodation.
UNTRR has sent several official addresses to the French authorities regarding the principle of equal payment for the same services in the same place, but the French Government has not responded to the requests of the road transport industry in Romania, unlike the German officials, who, although they do not share the same opinions, at least prove they are professionals and formulate official argued letters on the requests submitted by UNTRR. We would like to thank the German Embassy in Bucharest for its support on the dialogue between UNTRR and the German authorities, even though the points of view are divergent at the moment regarding the addressed issues.
****
About UNTRR
National Union of Road Hauliers from Romania (UNTRR) is an organisation - professional and employers, non-governmental, independent, apolitical - founded in 1990 on democratic principles, promoting and defending the interests of road transport domestically and internationally, recording since its foundation to the present over 14,000 members - operators carrying out domestic and international freight transport and passengers.
