“During the COVID-19 pandemic, truck drivers showed to be one of the most essential workers to ensure that there was no shortage of products across Europe. However, for over a decade, the professional truck drivers’ shortage has become a chronic problem across Europe, a structural issue affecting businesses and consumers. The increasing lack of truck drivers is a real threat to EU supply chains and, hence, to the EU’s economy as a whole.
There is a need to employ 400.000 truck drivers at the EU level to cover market demands, and given the high proportion of drivers approaching retirement, the shortage will continue to rise if no action is taken. Contraction of available drivers is due to several reasons: demographic factors, difficult working conditions, inadequate drivers’ facilities, training and qualification challenges, or the lack of attractiveness of the profession, among others.
New legislation is trying to improve the situation, and in February this year, the last milestone for the enforcement of the European Mobility Package 1 came into force. Although aimed at improving the social conditions in the sector, it may create additional obligations for companies.
This webinar is aimed at supporting companies from all sectors to better understand the impact that their operations may have on the human rights of truck drivers involved in their supply chains, as well as to give them practical ideas on how to better identify these risks and act on them.”