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USDAW

Excessive hours are having a damaging effect on the family and social lives of most UK lorry drivers, with one in four drivers currently working more than 60 hours per week, according to research published today by one of the UK's largest road transport trade unions, UNI Commerce affiliate Usdaw.

Usdaw today urged transport company bosses to start negotiating with unions and workers now, ahead of the introduction of an EU directive, in March 2005, that will limit the working week of drivers to a maximum of 48 hours. Usdaw is encouraged by the success of two major recent agreements and wants the deals to act as blueprints to secure more agreements that benefit both employees and employers.

Statistics collated from the responses of nearly 750 road transport members of Usdaw, one of the most comprehensive trade union surveys of its kind ever undertaken, include:

• 72% said working long hours had damaged their family and social lives.

• Almost six in 10 said long hours had damaged their health.

• Almost half work 55 or more hours per week.

• One in four work 60 or more hours per week.

Usdaw has now submitted its research to an ongoing Government consultation towards setting clear minimum requirements for the Road Transport Working Time Directive , which will be introduced in March 2005. Under the terms of this binding EU directive, drivers must work no more than 48 hours per week, calculated as an average of hours worked over a 17-week reference period (there will be an absolute maximum of 60 hours in any one week).

Usdaw General Secretary Sir Bill Connor said today: "The Road Transport Working Time Directive will revolutionise a sector plagued by problems associated with a deeply-embedded culture of working long hours. Our survey clearly shows that this culture is damaging the family and social lives of drivers. Usdaw welcomes the directive, as it will bring huge benefits to our 20,000 road transport members. Change will be tough for some transport companies, but it needn't cause complete chaos. The proactive companies are already working with unions and workers to phase-in new working practices and allay the fears of many drivers, who expect to lose out financially as a result of the reduced hours. The industry already has a shortage of skilled drivers - unless companies sharpen up, they stand to lose a lot more."

Two separate major agreements negotiated by Usdaw in recent months - with ACC Transport (part of The Co-operative Group) and A F Blakemore & Son Ltd which distributes to 750 Spar stores) - have resulted in reduced working hours at no financial loss to a combined total of around 1,300 drivers. Both deals were specifically linked to the requirements of the Road Transport Working Time Directive.

Working Time Survey - Key Findings

Working Time

• Average working week of Usdaw drivers is 52.5 hours (4.5 hours more than 48-hour average to be implemented in March 2005).

• Almost half (47%) work 55 or more hours per week.

• One in four work 60 hours or more per week.

• Eight out of 10 work more than 48 hours per week either very or fairly often.

• The majority depend on overtime to make up their basic income. Nearly half work five-to-10 hours of overtime per week, 41% work 11 to 20 hours and 6% work in excess of 20 hours.

We work too many hours

• 72% of Usdaw drivers feel they work too many hours.

• Main reason for working long hours is financial (64%), although long hours' culture (33%) and company pressure (30%) also play a big part. Only 7% work long hours because they enjoy their job.

Long hours are damaging to our health

• Almost six in 10 Usdaw drivers say that long hours has damaged their health.

• Health problems caused by long hours include tiredness/fatigue (84%), stress (56%), poor diet (55%), anxiety (23%) and depression (23%).

Long hours are damaging to our family and social life

• Almost three-quarters (72%) of Usdaw drivers say that long hours has damaged their family and social lives, citing lack of time with their partner (86%), poor social life (83%), lack of time for hobbies or entertainment (65%) and lack of time with their children (58%). Other problems include no time for exercise (44%) or for adult education (30%).

Case study 1 - ACC Transport

November 2003: ACC Transport, part of The Co-operative Group, signed an agreement with Usdaw which resulted in an 18.5% pay rise over two-and-a-half years, coupled with reduced working hours, for 1,200 drivers working out of depots across the UK (including the North East, Yorkshire, Midlands and Scotland).

Case study 2 - A F Blakemore & Son Ltd

January 2004: A F Blakemore & Son Ltd, which distributes to 750 Spar stores, signed an agreement with Usdaw which resulted in a 27% pay rise, a phased reduction in working hours and increased holiday entitlement for over 100 drivers at depots in Willenhall in the West Midlands and Grimsby in Lincolnshire.