Dear Sir,
I would like to draw your attention to the seriousness of new law implemented and applicable as of 1st July 2016 in France on the minimum wage in transport.
According to this new legislation, any foreign driver who transports goods to/from France and performs cabotage operations there has a duty to operate as a posted worker. This means that as of 1st July 2016 the minimum wage of 9,61 EUR is to be paid or, if applicable, remunerations coming from collective agreements in the transport sector. The new French decree foresees also that the operator has to prepare for every hired driver the certificate of posting and designate a representative in France. What is more, there is a requirement that all documentation concerning performed transports in France has to be prepared by the operator in French and kept by his representative and drivers for possible controls.
I need to underline negative consequences coming from these new protectionism measures. Once the French law is legally binding our operators will need to prepare documentation in three languages – Polish, German (as MiLoG is in force) and French. This concerns the working time of drivers in each country and adequate payment lists. This is great administrative, organizational and finally financial burden for foreign operators. We assume this will bring dramatic costs increase, loss of our competitiveness and finally exclusion from other markets.
We are of the opinion that recently implemented by Germany and France internal rules in transport under slogans on workers’ rights or fights against abuses bring only restrictions in economic activities performed by foreign operators and are in fact the state aid for French or German carriers. The governments of these countries effectively support their own entrepreneurs regardless consequences, such as increase of unemployment, bankruptcy of many companies and difficulties in trade exchange, this activity actually brings to other countries These governments arbitrarily implement internal protectionist rules which are against basic freedoms of the European Union. We cannot stay passive and allow for this dictate of some Member States over others.
Our association consequently considers that, similarly as in the maritime transport, rules on posing of workers should not apply to highly mobile staff i.e. professional drivers in international road transport.
The Association of International Road Transport Carriers in Poland would like to support the complaint submitted to you on 25th of April 2016 by the Transport and Logistic Poland (TLP). Due to the fact that France violates the European law and acts against the Single European Market we turn to you to ask the European Commission to analyze in depth new French legislation with its all negative consequences as well as impact on other countries and to take proper legal steps against France.
With kind regards,
Jan Buczek
President