/ Seppo Olkkonen Riga Preparation of the national profile on working conditions in road transport in Finland

Profile of the Finnish road transport sector Seppo Olkkonen Aira Ylä-Outinen Riia-Liisa Pulkkinen In 2000, the European Foundation carried out its third European Survey on Working Conditions and collected information on the working conditions, health and well-being of the employed and self- employed in the 15 EU member states These three surveys (1990, 1995 and 2000) provided a general picture of the main characteristics of the economic sectors with regard to working conditions (Paoli and Merllié 2001) This general picture is sufficient for setting priorities, but not enough to understand the reasons underlying the above-mentioned situation, and the policies, at various levels, undertaken to deal with them

/ GOALS The national report will 1.provide an overview of the quality of work and employment in the road transport sector 2.give some background information on the sector 3.highlight the most prevalent characteristics of the sector.

/ Collection of qualitative & quantitative information qualitative information has been collected through - literature - interviews with key actors and experts in the field quantitative information has been collected mainly from statistical data. Some unpublished data have been especially prepared for this study by Statistics Finland, and the Federation of Accident Insurance Institutions.

/ Sector characteristics Sector according to NACE and Finnish Branch Classification (TOL95) Name: Road transport 3-digit code 602 Finnish Branch Classification (TOL95): Bus transport other scheduled passenger land transportation ( NACE 6021) other land passenger transport (charter services) (NACE 6023) Freight transport by road 6024, Freight transport by road (NACE 6024) Sector characteristics Sector according to NACE and Finnish Branch Classification (TOL95)

/ Economic characteristics of the sector The turnover of the transport sector (€ 9.5 billion) has grown steadily in representing 3.6 % of the GNP in 2000 The growth was more prominent in the freight transport The total market share of public transport has declined and also relative proportion of bus transport of all transport has also declined during 1990s The growth of the number of private passenger cars has partly cut down the amount of public transport. The number of companies of the transport sector (12152) has grown steadily in representing 5.4 % of the all national companies in 2000 The company size in freight transport and bus transport sectors is small: 94.7% of the freight and 68.2% of bus companies had less than 10 employees only 33 freight and 37 bus companies with over 49 employees (2000).

/ Labour market characteristics 1. The number of employees increased in bus transport 15% and in freight transport by road sector 27% in The men represent the majority in both bus 88-87% and freight transport (94-92) sectors The percentage of women in the bus transport has increased slightly (12-13%) and was higher than in the freight transport by road (6-8%).

/ Labour market characteristics 2. Motor vehicle drivers represented 98% of the employees in bus transport 97% in the freight transport sector The high proportion of drivers is due to the fact that most of them are self-employed or in SMEs The majority (83%) of the employees work full time.

/ Specific directives/regulations as a background to the improvement of quality of work and employment in the sector 1. Collective labour contract in the road transport sector (The Central Organisation of the Finnish Trade Union (SAK)/The Confederation of Technical Employee Organisations in Finland (STTK), latest )  Employment relationship, working hours, determination and payment of wages, sick leave and the payment of wages, health care, annual holiday 2. Labour legislation Individual labour law Employment contracts act Acts on working hours 605/1996 leave, study leave and young workers  Lists the terms that should be considered in all employment relationships.

/ Occupational Safety Health Act 299/ 1958, (new act738/ 2002, ) >Prevention of accidents and occupational diseases and the safety of machinery and other equipment Accident Insurance Act >The employer is required to insure his employers against accidents. This covers also the costs of investigation in suspicion of occupational disorders and treatment as well as handicap compensation of occupational disorders Occupational Health Care Act 1383/200 >The act lays down the duty of an employer to arrange occupational health care and on the content and organisation of the occupational health care provided Council regulation (EEC)3820/85 relating road transport/section IV Driving periods and section V Breaks and rest periods > Determination of maximum driving periods and minimum breaks and rest periods of the road transport drivers

/ QUALITY OF WORK AND EMPLOYMENT; POLICIES AND INSTRUMENTS Health and well-being Combining work and non-working life Regulations, collective bargaining OSH Prevention policies Company strategies, examples of good and bad practices

/ Physical work environment The employees are exposed frequently to noise (70%) vibration (50%) insufficient lighting (69%) cold climate (49%) chemicals (67%) road transport workers complained frequently from monotonous sitting postures repetitive movements musculoskeletal disorders were mostly back and the shoulder problems

/ QUALITY OF WORK AND EMPLOYMENT; DESCRIPTIVE FEATURES Work organization Working time Information and consultation Income levels and payment systems Access to social protection

/ Views of the key informers Views of the employer organisations Views of the unions Views of the public authorities

/ Funds especially supporting the work conditions in the road transport sector 1.The Volvo-Foundation of the Finnish Bus and Coach Association and Volvo-Foundation of the Finnish Trucking Association 2. the Reuma-Foundation of the Truck Drivers 3.Union-Oil Foundation of the Truck Drivers 4.The Central Organization for Traffic Safety 5.the Federation of Finnish Insurance Companies 6.The Finnish Work Environment Fund 7.the Centre for Occupational Safety

/ Issues and challenges, actions to be taken 1) The self-employed are facing ever tightening competition for contracts. The large-scale industry has pulled down the transport prices, leading to lower wages and unpaid overtime work. Driving a truck effectively is difficult due to the increasing demands for limitating work time. 2) In general, drivers tend to smoke too much, they are overweight, and have too little physical training. The risk factors arising from life-style are in need of intervention surveys. 3) Employees working in SMEs often have access to fewer or no OSH services. The availability of these services should be improved. 4) Drivers are in greater need of rehabilitation than workers in the other sectors. Only one third of the drivers believed they would not need to consider early retirement on the basis of health. 5) The ergonomic aspects related to the use of IT technology by drivers seem to be in need of improvement. 6) The loading and unloading places for trucks are frequently unsatisfactory, entailing a high accident risk, and having poor lighting and poor ergonomics. 7) The rest places for heavy vehicles are in need of improvement. They should have 24 hour social services and offer healthy meals and the possibility for physical exercise and rest without the risk being robbed or mugged. 8) Overtime work and fatigue are still a prominent health risk to the drivers. There is need to improve information dissemination regarding this aspect. 9) The systematic further training in the sector has just started. At the EU level the further training of professional drivers should be at least one day annually or 5 day per 5 years since 2008.

/ Statistics of road traffic accidents by source of information ALL Accidents 100 % TRAFFIC INSURANCE STATICS about accidents. POLICE RECORDS about accidents FATAL ROAD TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS about 350

/ The number of deaths and retirements due to injury in road freight transport accidents yr

/ Working conditions in professional road haulage are challenging: Freight transport by road is sector with low educated male drivers This is the case especially in Finland where over 90% of truck companies have less than 10 employees Only a few small enterprises have organized occupational health care by a written agreement Road transport companies operate in a highly competitive environment Greater demands from customers for precision, speed and flexibility in the delivery of goods results in "just in time" deliveries long and irregular working hours varying road and light conditions