Over the past weeks, the European Commission has worked on expanding and deepening the Single Market. This Wednesday, Single Market Commissioner Michel Barnier presented a relevant proposal. From a trade union point of view, some points in the paper are raising alarm bells, as market and trade barriers have been removed, but important employment aspects are ignored. The proposal of the Commission does not address the situation in the labour market, even though it presents an important part of the Single Market.

The railway needs more competition; hence, more far-reaching liberalisation of railway transport than has taken place so far is necessary, informed EU Transport Commissioner Siim Kallas the audience at a European economic and social committee (EESC) on future EU railway legislation, which had been organised by the European Commission, this week. The publication of the so-called fourth railway package, which will outline details on new liberalisation steps, has been planned to already take place in December.

Loading and unloading, refuelling, cleaning and technical control are some of the services provided by employees within the scope of the so-called aircraft handling. Over the past years, the working conditions in the EU area have deteriorated significantly; wages are coming crushing down. And the groundhandling sector, which had been liberalised some years ago, is suffering from a low level of efficiency.

Working conditions of professional drivers must be improved and road safety must be increased, emphasised some MEPs just before the vote on the so-called Recording Equipment Regulation in the European Parliament. However, these objectives were probably already forgotten during the vote: a majority of EU representatives voted in favour of a passage, where recording equipment automatically defines activities such as loading and unloading of vehicles and administrative works as rest period or break. According to this only driving time is considered working time.

The report mentioned above (rapporteur MEP Ţicău) Amendment of the Council Regulation (EEC) No. 3821/85 on recording equipment in road transport and Regulation (EC) No.561/2006 on the harmonisation of certain social legislation relating to road transport has been scheduled to be debated and this week in the plenum of the European Parliament.

EU employment ministers met in Luxembourg this week to discuss future demographic challenges among other; they also decided the so-called “Council conclusions responding to demographic challenges through enhanced participation in the labour market and society by all”. On the positive side it should be noted that the labour market is assuming a key role in respect of coping with an ageing population.

Heavy goods vehicles weighing up to 60 tons and being more than 25 metres long can also be used across borders provided the Member States, in which the mega trucks are to be used, agree.

The report mentioned above (rapporteur MEP Ţicău) Amendment of the Council Regulation (EEC) No. 3821/85 on recording equipment in road transport and Regulation (EC) No.561/2006 on the harmonisation of certain social legislation relating to road transport has been scheduled to be debated and voted on on 4. 7. 2012 in the plenum of the European Parliament.

HGV drivers have already been part of one of the professional groups which were most affected by the liberalisation efforts at EU level. And now the European Parliament is making things even worse: MEPs voting in the Transport Committee in the European Parliament agreed on a passage which results in the fact that by using the new digital control devices it is no longer possible to monitor rest periods of HGV drivers.

Within the scope of the so-called European Semester, the Commission this week has for the second time provided country-specific recommendations for all Member States and the Eurozone as a whole. In respect of Austria, the Commission suggests amongst others measures to reduce inefficiencies between federal, provincial and municipal authorities, to lower the tax burden on labour and to increase the employment of women and migrants.