European Parliament : Notice to members - Petition No 0005/2017 by Jouko Palmroth (Swedish) on traffic safety on roads with regard to working time of bus drivers - PE 615.530v01-00 - Committee on Petitions

European Parliament

2014-2019

Committee on Petitions

20.12.2017

NOTICE TO MEMBERS

Subject:Petition No 0005/2017 by Jouko Palmroth (Swedish) on traffic safety on roads with regard to working time of bus drivers

1.

Summary of petition

The petitioner explains that Sweden has satisfactory regulation on heavy traffic (for example for lorries) which however does not apply to buses. Bus drivers are entitled to resting hours during the day by employers but resting locations are not similarly designated. The petitioner gives the example of a bus driver driving 8-9 hours paid and having 4-5 empty hours within a 13 hour timeframe. He questions how safe it is that bus drivers are allowed to drive 50 hours per week, adding that 9-11 hours work per day is quite common in the profession.

2.

Admissibility

Declared admissible on 15 May 2017. Information requested from Commission under Rule 216(6).

3.

Commission reply, received on 20 December 2017

The Committee on Petitions has asked the Commission to provide information on the implementation of the Working Time Directive (2003/88/EC)1 in Sweden. The Commission considers that information about the implementation of the articles related to maximum working time and rest time are the most relevant to the petition. As some bus drivers are also covered by EU legislation specific to the transport sector, the Commission's response also refers to this legislation.

The Working Time Directive is in general applicable to road transport activities. However, for bus drivers who are engaged in passenger transport on regular services where the route

1 Directive 2003/88/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 4 November 2003 concerning certain aspects of the organisation of working time,OJ L 299, 18.11.2003, p. 9

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exceeds 50 km, Directive 2002/15/EC1 on working time for mobile workers would apply, as well as Regulation (EC) No 561/2006 on driving and rest time. For drivers who do not fall within that scope, the Regulation stipulates that Member States shall ensure that they are governed by national rules which provide adequate protection in terms of driving time, breaks and rest periods.

In Sweden, the Working Time Directive is, as regards bus drivers operating routes under 50 km, implemented by the Working Hours Act (WHA) (Arbetstidslag (1982:673)2,3).

Article 6 of the Working Time Directive concerning maximum weekly working time4 and Article 16(b) on the reference period for the calculation of maximum working time5 is implemented in Sweden by Section 10(b) of the Working Hours Act, which provides that the average working time for each seven-day period, including overtime, may not exceed 48 hours. The reference period for calculating the average is 4 months. Regular (planned) working hours may however not exceed 40 hours a week.

Articles 3, 4, 5 of the Working Time Directive on rest and breaks, and Article 8 on night work do not by virtue of its Article 20 apply to mobile workers6. Member States are, however, required to take the necessary measures to ensure that such mobile workers are entitled to adequate rest, except in the circumstances laid down in Article 17(3)(f) and (g) concerning force majeure, cases of accident and imminent risk.

Section 13 of the Working Hours Act provides that all employees are entitled to a minimum rest period of 11 hours within each period of 24 hours. Section 14 provides for a minimum weekly rest of 36 hours. Section 13(a) limits the work of night workers to an average of 8 hours within a reference period of 4 months and to an absolute maximum of 8 hours if the work involves special hazards or heavy physical or mental strain.

Section 15 entitles the workers to a break after max. 5 hours. The number, length and placing of the breaks must be satisfactory and known to the workers in advance as precisely as the circumstances permit.

There are no derogations from these provisions provided for under the Working Hours Act for the road transport sector or bus drivers. Sections 13 and 14 provide for derogations from the requirements as regards daily and weekly rest incidentally if caused by special circumstances that could not be foreseen by the employer and provided that the employee is given equivalent compensatory rest.

1 Directive 2002/15/EC the Organisation of the Working Time of Persons Performing Mobile Road Transport Activities[OJ L 80, 23.3.2002, p. 35].

2http://www.government.se/government-policy/labour-law-and-work-environment/1982673-working-hours-act-arbetstidslagen/

• 3http://rkrattsbaser.gov.se/sfst?bet=1982:673

• 4 "Member States shall take the measures necessary to ensure that, in keeping with the need to protect the safety and health of workers: (b) the average working time for each seven-day period, including overtime, does not exceed 48 hours".

• 5 .". a reference period not exceeding 4 months".

• 6 "Mobile workers" means any worker employed as a member of travelling or flying personnel by an undertaking which operates transport services for passengers or goods by road, air or inland waterway (The Working Time Directive Article 2 no. 7)

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Article 18 of the Working Time Directive provides for derogations from the requirements concerning rest, breaks, night work and reference periods (maximum 12 months according to the Directive Article 19) by collective agreements1. According to Section 3 of the Working Hours Act, collective agreements that have been concluded or approved by a central (national) employee organization may be exempted from the Act as a whole or may provide derogations from inter alia Section 5 on regular working time, Section 8 on limits to overtime, Section 10(b) on total/maximum working time, Section 13 on daily rest, Section 14 on weekly rest, Section 13(a) on limitations to night work and Section 15 on breaks. However, derogations as regards maximum working time may not exceed a period of twelve months for calculating average working time. Furthermore, derogations as regards maximum working time, daily and weekly rest, limitations to night work and breaks may not imply less favourable terms for workers than those prescribed by the Working Time Directive.

Derogations from Sections 8 and 8(a) (limitations to overtime), Section 9, second paragraph (information to a local employee organization about overtime in case of accidents etc),

Section 10 and 10(a) (overtime for part-time workers ("mertid")) and Section 13, second paragraph (night rest between 00h00 - 05h00), may also be made on the basis of collective agreements concluded by a local employee organization. Such derogations, however, apply for a period not exceeding one month, calculated from the date of conclusion of the agreement.

The Commission has no information indicating that national legislation is not in conformity with Directive 2003/88/EC as regards Swedish bus drivers.

Directive 2002/15/EC on the Organisation of the Working Time of Persons Performing Mobile Road Transport Activities and Regulation (EC) No 561/2006

Regulation (EC) No 561/2006 on driving and rest time allows for a maximum weekly driving time of 56 hours, provided that the total accumulated driving time during any two weeks shall not exceed 90 hours. As regards the working time, Directive 2002/15/EC stipulates a maximum weekly working time of 48 hours. This may be extended to 60 hours only if, over four months, an average of 48 hours a week is not exceeded. A reference period of 6 months may be agreed by collective agreement or, if this is not possible, by laws, regulations or administrative provisions.

Sweden has fully transposed the Directive 2002/15/EC into national legislation on 6 September 2005 through Lagen (2005:395) om arbetstid vid visst vägtransportarbete2. The Commission's transposition check confirmed the conformity of the national measures with the Directive. The Commission recalls that it is the Member State which is primarily responsible for the enforcement of the working time provisions.

Conclusions

From the information available to the Commission, the Swedish national legislation transposing the Working Time Directive and the sectoral EU legislation is compatible with

1 The Directive Article 17 (3) also provides for derogations by legislation for activities involving the need for continuity of service or production, ia. for "(viii) workers concerned with the carriage of passengers on regular urban transport services".

2http://rkrattsbaser.gov.se/sfst?bet=2005:395

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EU law.

EU law does not prevent the use of split periods of work during the working day provided that the requirements for daily or weekly rest periods are complied with.

As regards drivers engaged in the carriage of passengers on routes below 50 km who are subject to the Working Time Directive: if the petitioner's reference to driving times of more than 50 hours a week implies that the driver has a total working time of more than 48 hours on average over 4 months, then the situation described by the petitioner appears to be unlawful under EU law, unless a collective agreement provides for a longer reference period.

As regards drivers engaged in the carriage of passengers on routes exceeding 50 km, driving times of more than 50 hours per week are not against EU law as long as the limit of an accumulated 90 hours over 2 consecutive weeks is adhered to. A working time of more than 60 hours per week is also allowed if it does not exceed an average of 48 hours over 4 months

(or 6 months1).

1 Directive 2002/15/EC on Working Time in Road Transport Article 8 provides that derogations from Articles 4 (maximum working time) and 7 may, for objective or technical reasons or reasons concerning the organisation of work, be adopted by means of collective agreements, agreements between the social partners, or if this is not possible, 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.

The option to derogate from Article 4 may not result in the establishment of a reference period exceeding six months, for calculation of the average maximum weekly working time of forty-eight hours.

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