International

Over five hundred inland waterway barge owners and workers from the Netherlands, Belgium and France today demonstrated in Brussels for better conditions in the inland water-borne freight sector. Addressing the demonstrators, SP Member of Parliament Farshad Bashir said, ‘In the whole of Europe there is a crisis in the transport sector, both on road and on inland waterways, causing a great deal of personal tragedy through countless bankruptcies.’

Farshad Bashir addresses demonstrators

Enormous social-economic differences between western and eastern European countries are making road transport ever cheaper. This means not only that truck drivers are having an increasingly hard time making a living, but also that many in the inland waterway sector are finding it hard to keep their heads above water, so to speak. 'There has to be a change of course,’ said Bashir in his speech. ‘I want to see immediate intervention, for instance a ban on carrying freight below cost price, a practice into which insolvent barge owners are being forced by banks, pushing more and more of them deeper into difficulties. Governments must help these people to steer their way out of the crisis in a socially beneficial fashion. We need them: inland waterways are the cleanest, cheapest and least burdensome form of freight transport.’

The inland waterway barge owners and workers have formed an alliance with the competition: a number of truck drivers turned up to the demo. They are also experiencing problems as a result of the failure to respect social rights in the road transport sector in the context of viciously unfair competition. As Bashir told the crowd, ‘Truck drivers’ social rights must be enforced as quickly as possible. The exploitation must stop.’

During the demonstration many of the inland waterway workers expressed their solidarity with the truck drivers, who on 14th May are organising an international day of action. The two groups plan to meet to discuss common follow-up actions.