A lorry-drivers’ union has accused the federal government of enjoying “Russian roulette” with street security after it emerged that no information are being saved of overseas vans invited in to beat the HGV scarcity.
Unite stated ministers “panicked” final October within the face of empty grocery store cabinets ensuing from the scarcity of drivers brought on by the mixed impression of Covid, Brexit and under-recruitment of homegrown employees.
A leisure of “cabotage” guidelines allowed non-UK drivers to work limitless hours and make unrestricted numbers of deliveries inside a 14-day interval.
However the Division for Transport (DFT) has now admitted that it isn’t monitoring what number of overseas lorries are getting into the UK or whether or not they’re leaving throughout the two-week deadline.
In response to a freedom of knowledge request from Unite for particulars of the variety of corporations benefiting from the cabotage coverage, which international locations the vans come from, and what number of over-stay, the DFT stated solely: “There isn’t any mechanism or register out there from which cabotage knowledge might be derived as it is going to be industrial knowledge held by operators based mostly outdoors the UK.”
The one info out there on cabotage charges was compiled by the EU’s Eurostat statistical workplace – regardless of the UK having left the EU almost two years in the past – and probably the most up-to-date figures date again to 2019, the union was instructed.
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Unite basic secretary Sharon Graham stated the federal government’s strategy had created “an accident ready to occur”, as overseas drivers are required to work exhausting lengthy hours and sleep of their cabs for prolonged intervals.
“That is sheer incompetence by the federal government, which is enjoying Russian roulette with British street customers,” stated Ms Graham. “It launched this knee-jerk response to the lorry driver disaster final 12 months. Now they inform us they don’t know what number of overseas lorry drivers have come, what number of hours they work when they’re right here and in the event that they go dwelling after the 14-day working interval.
“It’s actually an accident ready to occur, based mostly on the unlawful super-exploitation of those drivers.
“Unite is devoted to defending the roles, pay and situations of its members. If it receives any proof {that a} failure to abide by the UK’s employment legal guidelines, street security guidelines or driving laws is impacting on the roles and situations of our lorry-driver members, then we are going to take motion to cease that.”
Unite stated that the failure to maintain information of overseas vans meant that abuses of the scheme can solely be detected by on-the-spot inspections.
However earlier freedom of knowledge requests final month revealed a 39 per cent decline within the variety of these checks on lorries since 2016/17.
The union’s street haulage officer Adrian Jones stated that, on common, a truck will drive the equal of three and a half occasions around the world earlier than dealing with an inspection.
“Not solely is the federal government clueless about what number of overseas lorries are presently on UK roads, however the one on-the-spot inspections to make sure these autos are roadworthy and driving laws are being noticed are as uncommon as hens’ tooth,” stated Mr Jones.
“Fairly than permitting overseas lorries limitless entry to the UK to sort out driver shortages, the federal government needs to be tackling the foundation causes of the driving force disaster – low pay, lengthy hours and the dearth of respectable parking and welfare amenities for drivers.”
A DFT spokesperson stated: “The momentary, extra cabotage guidelines are one in every of 32 measures taken that are working to alleviate the results of the worldwide lorry driver scarcity within the UK.
“The division is monitoring the general uptake of the extra cabotage guidelines and early indications are that they’ve been profitable in aiding the resilience of provide chains, together with offering key connections to ports.”
