November 24 (BTA) - The actual pay drawn by long-haul truckers who are regularly posted from Bulgaria to other EU Member States is significantly lower than the minimum wage in the country of destination, the Podkrepa Confederation of Labour found in a national survey conducted under the Posting In Transport (PIT) Project, the trade union confederation said in a press release.

Quite often, drivers employed in transnational transport in Bulgaria are not considered posted and, therefore, cannot claim their rights under the Posted Workers Directive and cannot benefit from the minimum protection rules laid down in that Directive, Podkrepa commented.

Even after the adoption of the EU Mobility Package, truck fleet owners routinely force drivers to sign contracts with their company as sole traders. In this way, the rules imposed by the Directive are circumvented without nominally violating the law. The problem with this new pattern of work is that employees are falsely classified as self-employed and face a high level of insecurity, the TU experts note.

Bulgarian drivers are victims of social dumping. They prefer to be cheap labour in the richer countries of Western Europe than to work for a paltry pay in Bulgaria, the survey concluded.

Quite a few truckers find themselves in stress situations when they have to meet tight schedules. Their lifestyle and diet are unhealthy. They are encouraged to save fuel, which makes them operate their vehicles in a way endangering road traffic safety (say, by coasting downhill).

Podkrepa argues that the problems in long-haul road transport need to be actively addressed in terms of social integration and unionization of those working in the sector.

The conclusions about Bulgaria have been summed up in a report on national practices in the sphere of posted workers in the transport sector, which has been circulated to the project partners: the lead organization - the Italian Confederation of Workers' Trade Unions (CISL), Podkrepa's partners: the Belgian Transport Workers' Union (BTB-ABVV) and the General Workers' Union Malta (GWU), and four associate partners of Albania, Romania, Britain and Slovenia. The second half of the PIT Project, which is implemented with the financial support of the EU, will take place between December 1, 2021 and August 31, 2022. RY/LG