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Annex 13 Internal waterways

Background information for the study ‘Analysis of the

trends and prospects of jobs and working conditions in

transport’

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Contents

1 INTRODUCTION 5

1.1 Introduction 5 1.2 Submodes and professions 5 1.3 Analytical framework 6

2 PESTLE-ANALYSIS ON EU INLAND WATERWAY TRANSPORT LABOUR MARKET 7

2.1 Political factors 7 2.2 Economic factors 10 2.3 Social factors 12 2.4 Technological factors 12 2.5 Legal factors 14 2.6 Environmental factors 17

3 EU INLAND WATERWAY TRANSPORT LABOUR MARKET TRENDS 19

3.1 Trends in demand 19 3.2 Trends in supply 24

4 DISCREPANCIES EU INLAND WATERWAY TRANSPORT LABOUR MARKET 27

4.1 Quantitative discrepancies 27 4.2 Qualitative discrepancies 30 4.3 Information asymmetries 37

5 REDUCTION OF DISCREPANCIES EU INLAND WATERWAY TRANSPORT

LABOUR MARKET 41

5.1 Introduction 41 5.2 General solutions to discrepancies inland waterway transport 41 5.3 Promoting inflow 43 5.4 Preventing outflow/ diminishing labour demand 45

6 MAIN FINDINGS EU IWT LABOUR MARKET 47

6.1 Sub-sectors and job types 47 6.2 Data and literature 48 6.3 Social dialogue 48 6.4 Inland waterway transport undertakings and policies 48 6.5 Demand and supply of labour and skills 49 6.6 Attractiveness of working in the sector 50 6.7 Education, training and certification 51 6.8 Conclusions: bottlenecks and risks 52 6.9 Policy suggestions 52

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1 Introduction

1.1 Introduction

This is Annex 13 to the Analysis of the trends and prospects of jobs and working

conditions in transport, commissioned by JRC and conducted by Panteia in

cooperation with PwC Italy. The Annex contains both detailed information and

analyses on the IWT mode and the transport sector at large which allow the

report to be read as a stand-alone document along the main report.

This Annex covers the PESTLE-analysis, labour market trends, discrepancies in

the labour market, options to reduce the discrepancies and main f indings. These

are treated in the consecutive chapters. The results of some specific research

steps and on specific topics are not included as they are presented en block in

the main report. This includes:

Detailed assessment of the relative job quality (Task 4);

Review of the human capital perspective aiming to draw a human capital map

for 2010 and 2020 of the EU transport sector (Task 5);

Findings targeted stakeholder consultation;

(Anecdotic) evidence on social dumping, cabotage and other social problems;

Lists of literature and internet sources.

The Annex does not aim to give a complete new overview of the labour market in

IWT but gives the findings as were anticipated during the execution of the study.

In itself labour market issues and its description are not of static nature and

would require continuous updating.

1.2 Submodes and professions

The inland waterway transport sector (IWT) comprises three subsectors:

Ports, mainly as function of necessary transhipment of load into a vessel.

The nature of this can either be a private port (located near for example a

factory or a private terminal for containers) or a public port.

Passenger transport; this transport is limited and consists of many

arrangements (short or long stay on vessels), it is mainly related to the

tourism and leisure business. However some of the employment and

activities will be accounted to the transport sector.

Freight transport; this is the main source of employment in the IWT sector,

most of the regulation is designed for this subsector

The relevant job types found in the inland waterway transport sector are:

Ship crew

Pilots

Attendants (passengers only)

Port workers

Management

Back-office

Maintenance staff

Engineers.

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Although for some countries there is a lack of reliable data, the current estimate

of the amount of workers in IWT in the EU27 is 42,500 employees (Eurostat,

Transport in Figures 2011). This figure includes also the owner-operators and

part-time and temporary employment and staff active in passenger transport.

The majority (about 65%) of the employees is active in the Rhine corridor, other

arteries that are important are the Danube corridor, the Seine and Rhone

corridor and the Elbe and Oder corridor. In the inland waterway infrastructure

network these are the determining arteries, all other navigable canals and rivers

are branching to these three arteries. The navigation on the Danube and Rhine

are governed by specific Commissions that are operating under international

treaties between member countries. For example, in the field of crews and

navigating personnel, the Central Commission for the Navigation on the Rhine

(CCNR) has adopted Regulations for Rhine navigation personnel (RPN)

5Resolution 2010–I–8 –Annex1).

1.3 Analytical framework

The analytical framework that is applied in the study, comprises four

interconnected labour market models: flow model, discrepancies model, PESTLE-

analysis model and solutions model. It is presented in detail in Annex 1. On the

basis of this analytical framework the research questions to be answered in this

study are formulated. This can be described as follows:

The external factors influencing the development of the labour market can be

identified by looking at six specific domains. The six dimensions are the

political, economic, social, technological, legal and environmental dimension,

together PESTLE. These six different dimensions can influence the situation

on the transport labour market to a large extent, though some are obviously

more important than others. The PESTLE-model provides, so to speak, a

common language to describe the challenges faced by the different actors.

The EU transport labour market has a demand side and a supply side.

The demand for labour has a quantitative side (number of jobs) as well as a

qualitative side (requirements on workers) and is being influenced by the

specific (labour market) characteristics of the sector.

Likewise, the supply of labour has a quantitative side (number of potential

workers) as well as a qualitative side (characteristics of workers, e.g.

competences).

An ideal sectoral labour market knows completely balanced demand and

supply. In the real world, however, this is mostly not the case: labour

shortages and redundancies cause problems for market agents. Hence, at the

centre of this analysis of the EU transport labour market is the discrepancies

model: the EU transport labour market is analysed according to the three

characteristics of market functioning: (1) quantitative discrepancies, (2)

qualitative discrepancies and (3) information asymmetries due to lack of

transparency of the transport labour market.

The chapters in this Annex follow this structure, first the PESTLE analysis is

carried out. This is followed by description of supply and demand. This is

followed by a description of the discrepancies in the labour market. Thereafter

strategies to reduce discrepancies are discussed. The main conclusions and

recommendations at mode level are presented in the last chapter.

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2 PESTLE-analysis on EU inland waterway

transport labour market

This section describes context factors influencing the EU inland waterway

transport (IWT) labour market, the so-called PESTLE-factors: political,

economic, social, technological, legal and environmental factors.

2.1 Political factors

2.1.1 General context EU transport labour market

The following political factors play an important role for the EU transport labour

market as a whole:

EU Enlargement, Single Market and Market liberalisation: Transport

companies increasingly make use of more affordable labour from new

Member States and establish subsidiaries in those countries.

Remaining protectionism: Some Member States show in specific areas a

poor record of transposition and effectuation of EU market liberalisation

policy.

Integration of transport system: The EU’s political objective is to

transform the European transport system into an integrated, sustainable

and efficient mobility network.

Central role of social dialogue in EU transport labour market: Social

dialogue figures as a central instrument of governance in the transport

labour market in the European Union and its Member States. At EU-level

Sectoral Social Dialogue Committees play a central role.

Political priority of Life Long Learning (LLL): LLL helps employees to

adapt to the changing circumstances in and requirements of their respective

professions.

Europe 2020 and ”Flexicurity”: Flexicurity consists of ensuring no longer

a job for life ("job security") but of ensuring "employment security" thanks

to active employment policies and an appropriate safety net when one has

lost his/her employment.

Political priority of ecological focus: Emphasis on decarbonisation and

energy security leads to a modal shift and the introduction of alternative

energy and propulsion systems in transport means.

2.1.2 Specific context EU inland waterway transport labour

market

Market liberalisation

Until 1989, most over-capacity reductions in IWT were carried out at national

level. Since 1989 the IWT market was liberalised and inland waterway vessels

used to carry goods between two or more points by inland waterway in the

Member States were subjected to European measures for structural

improvements in inland waterway transport, these were initialised by Directive

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1996/75 and completed in 2000.1 In addition, the measure for reduction of

structural overcapacity by means of scrapping schemes was coordinated at

European level and supporting measures to avoid aggravation of existing

overcapacity or the emergence of further overcapacity were taken. Under the

new Community-fleet capacity policy, introduced in 1999, the "old-for-new"

instrument for regulating the capacity of the Community fleets was maintained

as a standby mechanism set at zero, which could be reactivated only in the event

of serious market disturbance.2

According to the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), in IWT a real

legislative/regulatory framework is lacking resulting in delocalisation to countries

which exploit fiscal differences between countries and less favourable social and

wage conditions for competitive advantages, e.g. within EU to Malta and Cyprus.3

In the view of European Barge Union (EBU) and European Skippers' Organisation

(ESO) liberalisation seems to have had no impact on job creation. The impacts of

liberalisation and the EC’s legislation evoke different views, some seeing this as

an effort to protect workers from employer’s malpractices, and others not.

Companies in the IWT sector do not compete on labour conditions.

European Transport Workers' Federation (ETF) is not in favour of further

liberalisation of the transport sectors. The presence of third country nationals

(from Indonesia, Philippines, and China etc.), - which in most cases do not

speak any other language than their own - on EU vessels, could have detrimental

effects on the communication on board.

Experience/view of individual IWT companies

“Within our sector, we have a lot of competition on the labour market. The fleet is quite large

but personnel does not spread evenly over the fleet: everyone is fishing in the same pond.

Personnel is on average 7 to 14 day on board, so working conditions and pay are very important

for employees. Employers are constantly looking how to offer employees as much as possible.

Salary is not everything, though: important is how the ship looks like and what accommodations

it has on board, also colleagues are important. Career opportunities are important as well (

although captain is the highest possible job, or employees would have to aspire to a job on

land).

A problem regarding competition is also the closing of locks. Locks need to operate faster,

otherwise the efficiency of IWT companies is hampered by restraining competitive power in

relation to road transport that can drive all night and all day”.

Source: Enterprise survey by Panteia/PWC

1 Council Regulation (EEC) No 1101/89 of 27 April 1989 on structural improvements in

inland waterway transport. 2 Council Regulation (EC) No 718/1999 of 29 March 1999 on a Community-fleet capacity

policy to promote inland waterway transport. 3 EESC (2011), TEN/445. Social aspects of EU Transport Policy.

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Social dialogue

State of the art (partners, priorities)

The Sectoral Social Dialogue Committee Inland Navigation comprises the

employers’ organisations European Barge Union (EBU) and European Skippers'

Organisation (ESO) and the employees' organisation European Transport

Workers' Federation (ETF).

The Committee is currently (2012-2013) focusing on:

Implementation of the sectoral working time agreement;

Job profiles;

Harmonisation of manning requirements;

Uniform social security legislation;

Promotion of inland waterway transport jobs;

Improvements of on-board working and living conditions and access to port-

side facilities;

Fair competition.1

Achievements, difficulties and deficiencies

Achievements are amongst others:

European agreement concerning certain aspects of the organisation of

working time in inland waterway transport (2012);

Joint sectoral contribution to the Commission's consultation on the future of

transport (2009);

Joint Declaration concerning Social Security Provisions in Inland Waterways

Transport (2009).2

As the IWT sector is relatively small, with only small trade associations of which

the organisational/administrative capacity in terms of representation is also

small compared to other modes of transport, it has limited capacity that has its

effects on the Social dialogue as regards processes and results. The dialogue in

IWT takes time but the fact that it takes place, and moreover in a constructive

manner, is already a value in itself, according to the Commission.

The capacity to have talks is not as developed compared to other modes or other

industries. It takes time to define common objectives, consequently it also takes

time to foster agreements. However this is explicitly not due to the

fragmentation of the sector, it is mainly an issue of available capacity as there is

a good understanding between the partners.

Despite the disadvantage of scale, the social partners succeeded in making a

working time agreement. The signatory parties have asked the Commission for

their agreement to be made legally binding in the EU. The Commission recently

adopted the proposal, and it is awaiting the Council’s approving it. The social

partners are also near to finishing a policy paper as input for the strategic area

‘Developing human capital’ of the EU NAIADES/PLATINA project (see also 5.2),

1 Sectoral Social Dialogue Committee Inland Navigation (2012). Working programme 2012-

2013. 2 http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=480&langId=en&intPageId=1840

http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=480&langId=en&intPageId=1840

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which in turn would be input for future skills and professional qualifications for

IWT EU legislation.

According to EBU and ESO, the Sectoral Social Dialogue in IWT is generally

working well. Social partners can also reach common positions on social issues.

At national level, they also take an active role in the educational systems. 1

However, there are also some problems:

At the moment, social dialogue is not very high on the agenda. There seems

to be a tendency to think of the interests of individual organisations instead

of what is in the best interest of the whole IWT sector.

Social dialogue is working slow. The method of meetings is not very

effective. Preparative discussions in smaller working groups, even without

interpretation, make the dialogue work better.

There are problems with representation in social dialogue. In the

Netherlands, for instance, representation of employers and employees is

low, and declining. This is caused by both the wide diversity of representing

organisations and the failure to merge into a larger organisation. This has

resulted in significant resentment and low esteem for the management of

these representing organisations (sometimes even calling them

incompetent).

Furthermore, the passenger transport subsector in IWT seems not sufficiently

represented (except in Switzerland). A problem here, is the distinction between

nautical personnel and other shipboard personnel that works under different

conditions. Especially representation of smaller operators is diminishing.

ETF is also of the opinion, that social dialogue in IWT is functioning well, though

in general it takes a lot of time.

2.2 Economic factors


As discussed in the main text of this report, the following economic factors play

an important role for the EU transport labour market as a whole2:

General economic growth and the crisis: The current economic and

financial crisis lowers demand for transport services and leads to the

postponement or halting of investments in transport, infrastructure and

business in general. It also leads to rationalisation and outsourcing.

Furthermore, it creates high unemployment in some countries which puts

pressure on labour markets.

1 For instance, in the Netherlands they provide support and financing for additional

guidance of pupils, leading to very low drop-out rates. 2 The following studies are relevant here:

Impact Assessment and Evaluation of Proposals for a Legal Instrument on the "Legislative Harmonisation of Boatmaster Certificates in Inland Waterway Transport", Europe Economics, London, November 2008

Impact Assessment and Evaluation of Proposals for a Legal Instrument on the "Legislative Harmonisation of Manning Requirements in Inland Waterway Transport", Europe Economics, London, November 2008

Medium and Long Term Perspectives of IWT in the European Union, NEA et al., December 2011

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Geopolitical changes and globalisation: Geopolitical changes and

globalisation of economies and trade lead to redistribution of transport

flows, increasing transnational recruitment and impact on transport prices

and wages.

Regional differences in economic development & specialisation:

Successful regions specialise in a number of economic areas, leading to

specific development in transport.

Congestion hampering and redistributing growth: Congestion of road

transport routes, but also specifically in urban areas, will increase and

seriously affect accessibility.


market

At the moment, IWT suffers from the economic crisis. The industry is unable at

normal water levels to maintain freight rates and turnover at the required level.

In the past years IWT was only able to operate profitably at times of low water

levels that leads to higher tariffs as a supplement is given. However in normal

times given the rising costs components, the result is a further reduction in

earnings. Many companies are still dealing with the repercussions of the

economic crisis, the consequences of which since 2008 – in various forms – are

still discernible. Many companies have been forced to deplete their savings to

cope with the more difficult conditions. In this context it is important to limit the

number of insolvencies. A downward spiral in the ships’ market value would have

devastating consequences for the industry.1 However, still bankruptcies occur

despite the efforts to minimize them. In this respect banks are reluctant to

devaluate the loans that they have in the shipping sector.

To save on labour costs, owners sail themselves or limit the sailing times to be

cheaper off. Aged captain/owners postpone their retirement because they can’t

sell their vessel. However, on the long term a growing demand for transport by

inland waterway is expected.2

EBU and ESO also point at the large differences between the entrepreneurial

climate and social security systems in the Member States. Most issues and

constructions used are legal, but bogus constructions should be avoided.


“In our view, economy is the most important PESTLE-factor. If there is less consumption, there

is less need for transport. If smaller volumes are transported, other transpor t modes (road) are

more attractive. So, the market share of IWT becomes smaller.”


1 CCNR (2012). Inland Navigation in Europe. market Observation 2012-2. 2 Article ‘Arbeidsmarkt binnenvaart: genoeg te doen en een wereld te winnen’, IN: Maritiem

Nederland, May 2013.

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2.3 Social factors


The following social factors play an important role for the EU transport labour

market as a whole:

Demographic development: Growing population (even if slowly, means

more demand for transport of passengers and thus more demand for

labour) and an ageing workforce (less supply of labour)

High level of unemployment in many EU countries: This puts a

downward pressure on wages and working conditions and may make that

past training and formation of the unemployed becomes obsolete or

forgotten. At the same time hiring of 3rd country nationals is witnessed that

leads to further decrease of wages.

Underrepresentation of women in the workforce: As a result of difficult

working conditions, stereotypical masculine image of the transport sector

and disadvantageous work-life balance not many women are attracted to

the transport sector.

Continuous monitoring of employee performance: Increased control

over employees’ performance - made possible by IT developments – can

lead to perceived pressure and possibly create stress.

Violence in the public domain: Violence has also manifested in the

transport sector; particularly reported in the passenger transport sector.

Organized crime: The transport sector suffers from increasing organized

crime, especially in road freight transport and maritime transport (piracy).

Development of a liability culture: Transport employees are facing legal

action when incidents occur under their responsibility.


market

An important issue according EBU and ESO is the cultural difference between the

large vessel operators (especially in container transport) and owner-operators of

smaller vessels.

2.4 Technological factors


The following technological factors play an important role for the EU transport

labour market as a whole:

Increasing use of IT;

Technological innovations;

Faster and larger transport means;

Intermodality: Making use of the advantages of different transport modes

(e.g. between rail and road) that are neatly tuned to each other, thus

keeping transfer time and cost (for passengers and freight) between the

different modes at a minimum.

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These technological developments lead to:

Efficiency & productivity gains, economies of scale and smarter mobility &

logistics (less demand for labour or more demand if activity grows as a

result of lower prices);

Diversification of requirement leading to specialised jobs;

Upgrading of labour (more complex job requirements).


market

Structurally, there is a trend towards larger ships and investments in new cargo

space and new technology1. New vessel concepts are being researched as well as

new delivery systems (floating stocks)2.

According to EBU and ESO, advanced technology in the vessels and the use of

modern ICT have changed the IWT professions/occupations, leading to different

skill requirements, but also extended possibilities to communicate with people

on-shore. The navigability and working conditions have improved by better

modern ships equipped with better steering equipment, but also comfort facilities

such as air conditioning in the steering house.

ETF points at information services and special tachographs for IWT ships, which

are on their way. There are also thoughts of the installation of electronic ID

cards that would monitor the working time.

As a result of continuing technical improvement, the number of crew members

can be reduced3. The technological developments also lead to different (higher)

skill requirements.

According to ETF, there is a lower limit to the manning of a IWT vessel. Having

less than two people on board is strongly opposed by ETF 4. Safety is a key issue

and isolation should be avoided. Shortage of labour in the sector should not be a

reason for the decrease of the safety standards.

Other factors with effects on skills and technology are e.g. the development of

new markets (container transport), propulsion systems (LNG), etc.

1 Article ‘Arbeidsmarkt binnenvaart: genoeg te doen en een wereld te winnen’, IN: Maritiem

Nederland, May 2013. 2 EESC (2011), TEN/445. Social aspects of EU Transport Policy. 3 European Parliament (2009), The Shortage of Qualified Personnel in Maritime and Inland

Waterway Transport. 4 ETF. European agreement concerning certain aspects of the organisation of the working

time in inland waterway transport, 2012

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2.5 Legal factors


The following legal factors play an important role for the EU transport labour

market as a whole:

Different social regimes between Member States: In general wages,

working conditions and social security are less favourable in new Member

States compared to the other Member States. As discussed in the main text,

this may lead to social dumping of which little evidence, but a great number

of actual suspicions and cases is available.

Different social legislation between transport modes: Besides

horizontal EU social legislation, transport modes have their own social

regulations (especially in the field of (harmonisation of) training and

certification and working times). EU specific regulations on the phenomenon

of false self-employment are still lacking. A problem remains the

enforcement of the EU Directives at national level.

Non-EU workers under lower standard legal regime: The co-existence

of non-EU-workers carrying out intra-EU transport, who may choose as

State of Residence a Member State with less favourable legal and social

regimes, has impact on average working conditions and remuneration

packages. Although non-EU workers must always be subject for a start to

the legislation of a Member State, they easily fall prey to illegal practices.

Their weight on labour supply reduces the negotiating position of other

workers.

Safety regulations to protect both transport workers and society: As

a result of EU safety regulations the safety conditions for transport workers

and society at large (i.e. passengers and other road users) have increased.


market

Social legislation

General

In advance, it should be mentioned that (horizontal and sectoral) rules in the

field of social security, labour law, health and safety protection etc. may not

always apply if they are tied up e.g. with the (often small) size of the enterprises

in IWT.

The Internal market legislation, the accession to the profession as carrier and

the right of establishment

Council Directive 87/540/EEC of 9 November 1987 on access to the occupation of

carrier of goods by waterway in national and international transport and on the

mutual recognition of diplomas, certificates and other evidence of formal

qualifications for this occupation. Main provisions of this Directive are the

following:

The condition of professional competence shall consist in the possession of

the standard of competence accepted by the authority or body appointed for

this purpose by each Member State.

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Member States shall recognise the certificates that have been issued by

another Member State as sufficient proof of professional competence.

EU regulations concerning (harmonisation of) training and certification

At EU level, there is only one IWT profession regulated: IWT boatmaster. Two

directives jointly form the legislative framework.

- Council Directive 91/672/EEC of 16 December 1991 on the reciprocal

recognition of national boatmasters' certificates for the carriage of goods and

passengers by inland waterway which provides for the mutual recognition by the

Member states of each other's certificates.

- Council Directive 96/50/EC of 23 July 1996 on the harmonization of the

conditions for obtaining national boatmasters' certificates for the carriage of

goods and passengers by inland waterway in the Community. The directive

comprises requirements for professional knowledge with regard to boatmasters.

A certificate meeting the Directive's minimal requirements is valid in all Member

States. Requirements to obtain a certificate are

Minimum age of 21;

Conditions linked to physical and mental aptitude; a medical examination

every year after reaching the age of 65 years;

At least four years' professional experience as a member of the deck crew

on an inland waterway vessel, with the possibility of a reduction 1;

Applicants must have passed an examination of professional knowledge;

Any special laid down by the Member States with regard to the transport of

passengers;

Special conditions relating to the navigation of boats with the aid of radar.

Currently the European Commission is working on an initiative concerning

Recognition and modernisation of professional qualifications in inland navigation.

In this field, an impact assessment study is in preparation. The new legal

instrument is meant to replace the existing Directive 96/50.

At the river commissions level, requirements for all crew members are covered

by respective regulations of CCNR (Rhine), Danube and Sava commissions,

however in varying intensity2:

CCNR: Resolution 2010-I-8-Annex 1, the Regulations for Rhine navigation

personnel.

UNECE: Recommendations on Minimum Requirements for the Issuance of

Boatmasters’ Certificates in Inland Navigation with a view to their

Reciprocal Recognition for International Traffic (Resolution No. 31 revised);

Recommendations on Harmonized Europe-Wide Technical Requirements for

Inland Navigation Vessels – (Resolution No. 61 Revised) that would

facilitate interoperability.

SAVA: Rules on minimum manning requirements for the vessels on the

Sava river basin.

Only CCNR Regulations for Rhine navigation personnel and Sava rules are

binding (although the impact of Sava rules is limited).

1 Directive 96/50/EC leaves the possibility of reducing the requisite four-year period for

obtaining a boatmasters’ certificate to only one year. 2 ILO Working Paper No. 297 Living and working conditions in inland navigation in Europe

2013 Panteia (Rob de Leeuw van Weenen, Janos Ferencz, Shirleen Chin, Wouter van der

Geest)

16

It can be said that dedicated rules for all IWT crew members describing

qualifications exist only on the Rhine.

EU regulations concerning working conditions

To protect workers’ health and safety, minimum rules are needed on working

time in all EU Member States. For all the sectors, the basic Directive is Directive

2003/88/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 4 November 2003

concerning certain aspects of the organisation of working time (in short: the

Working Time Directive, see main text). European Community has set specific

regulations on driving time and rest periods in road transport, railway transport

and air transport.

As yet, in IWT there are no specific regulations. However, in the framework of

the Social Dialogue at EU-level the social partners in IWT conducted negotiations

to achieve a sectoral agreement on the organisation of working time. They felt

that the specific working- and living conditions in the IWT sector require a

sectoral directive in this field. The European agreement on working time for

inland waterways (February 2012) covers both crew members and shipboard

personnel.1 It lays down important minimum rules applying to all workers in IWT,

such as:

Total working time in average may not exceed 48 hours per week; the

average may be calculated within a reference period of 12 months,

Total night working time may not exceed 42 hours per week,

A right to at least four weeks' paid annual leave, and to paid annual health

checks.

A right to at least 10 hours' rest every day (at least six hours must be

uninterrupted) and at least 84 hours' rest in total every week.

The agreement reflects the regular working schedules in inland waterway

transport and specifies standards for consecutive working- and rest days. Where

the normal working day is 8 hours, daily working time may be longer, and some

weekly rest days may be temporarily postponed, provided that the minimum

standards set out above are always respected.

The agreement is supposed to support the sector in providing an adapted and

attractive framework for the working time of staff. IWT offers huge possibilities

and challenges and is a major partner in the entire logistic chain. In the

framework of the agreement, an impact assessment study was carried out by

ECORYS on behalf of DG EMPL2.

Achievements, difficulties and deficiencies in EU social legislation

Commission staff points at the problem of lack of oversight of social dialogue

parties on existing rules. Furthermore, they point at the current discussion on

manning requirements in IWT. This issue is comparable to the driving time and

rest time rules for road transport. The question must be resolved for what is

1 This agreement also includes provisions with regard to seasonal work in the passenger

transport industry. 2 Ecorys 2013, Study on the costs and benefits of the implementation of the European

Agreement on working time in inland waterway transport – A comparison with the status

quo.

17

needed, in terms of manning, for safety of operation of vessels. The rules on

manning requirements are safety, not social legislation, but can have a positive

effect on social issues nonetheless.

According to EBU and ESO, the main efforts in the field of EU social legislation

should go to the access to the labour market, free movement of labour, working

times, qualifications and coordination of social security:

There are problems with the acquis communautaire, especially regarding

the working times, which do not fit the IWT sector.

Also, there are problems with the recognition of qualifications; however, as

mentioned above a legal framework on competences is under development.

A specific issue is the need for a customised coordination of social security

for the IWT sector. Social partners are of the opinion that EU-regulation

that determines in which Member State social security rules apply, does not

take into account the specifics of the IWT sector. This regulation stipulates

that this country is either the Member State where 25% or more of the

working time is spent, or the Member State where the employer is located.

Safety and environmental issues are more and more incorporated by the

sector, leading to less need for EU involvement.

Also ETF points at the on-going development of a legal framework on

competences in IWT. At the moment, each Member State still applies different

standards.


“Legislation is getting tougher. The transport sector needs strict rules to keep personnel safe

Governments’ ideas and plans however not also fit with what is needed in practice.

Nevertheless, the current rules do not constitute large problems: they do not pose unreasonable

demands. A problem is the enforcement of the rules, which is hampered by budget cuts”.


2.6 Environmental factors


The following environmental factors play an important role for the EU transport

labour market as a whole:

Implementation of (EU and national) sustainability policies: Emphasis

on sustainability increases and affects job requirements in the transport

sector.

Modal shift and clean power transport: There is shift towards cleaner

modes of transport and cleaner technologies within each mode with an

increasing demand for public transport and electromobility.

“Eco-driving”, consolidation of flows and smarter logistics: These

developments affect both job requirements and labour demand in the

transport sector

Employment potential of “Green transport” Europe needs to change to

a green, low carbon and resource efficient-economy. Transforming the

economy in this direction will provide an important source of jobs if the

right skills are provided. The Commission has developed this subject under

18

its "Towards a job-rich recovery" Communication1. The Commission also

participates in THE PEP: This UNECE partnership aims at exploring new

options for job creation and economic development, and maximizing at the

same time the potential gains for environment and health through

innovative transport policies.


market

In terms of environmental factors, IWT has a headstart:

Contrary to for instance road transport, in IWT there are no congestion

problems. According to the Dutch Inland Navigation Information Agency, the

next fifty years the use of the ‘blue road’ (rivers and canals) in Western

Europe will not be confronted with capacity constraints when it comes to

freight transport. The river Rhine can physically handle seven times more

shipping traffic than the present capacity before risking waiting lines.

Canals will be able to handle twice as much transport after a small

investment has been made in the construction of additional lock chambers

in a number of locations.

Transport by inland vessel is also the most sustainable mode of transport

for the future. The lowest fuel consumption per transported unit guarantees

the lowest emission of greenhouse gases. Nowadays, most of the barges run

on clean fuel, the same kind of fuel that lorries use. And the latest barges

that have been put into service since 2010 are able to realise a 90 percent

reduction in nitrogen oxides and particulates. The wider application of LNG

would help the fleet to become even greener.

Freight transport by inland vessel is also trendsetting in terms of safety.

More than three-quarters of all hazardous substances are already

transported safely by water. As most waterways are not near residential

areas, inland navigation produces little (noise) nuisance or other

restrictions.2

However, there are also some challenges in this respect:

According to ETF, the favourable, green position of IWT is under threat due

to improvements in truck engines. The possibilities to replace IWT-vessel

engines are limited due to the long economic life-time and physical

limitations to replace them.

According to the EESC the potential of IWT is as yet under-used. However,

water levels are varying increasingly on major rivers, which is a major

challenge for the sector.3

1 http://ec.europa.eu/social/BlobServlet?docId=7619&langId=en

2 Dutch Inland navigation Information Agency (2013). The power of inland navigation. The

future of freight transport and inland navigation in Europe. 3 EESC (2011), TEN/445. Social aspects of EU Transport Policy.

http://ec.europa.eu/social/BlobServlet?docId=7619&langId=en

19

3 EU inland waterway transport labour

market trends

This section describes trends in demand for and supply of labour on the EU

inland waterway transport labour market.

3.1 Trends in demand

3.1.1 General trends in demand

The following trends hold for the EU transport labour market as a whole:

Employment (number of jobs): Following upon a long period of

employment growth, in 2009 and 2010 in the EU 27 the transportation and

storage sector showed a decrease in employment. In 2010, the total

number of occupied persons in the transportation and storage sector

(excluding postal and courier activities) amounted to 9,344,700 (against

9,433,500 in 2009 and 9,571,00 in 2008). In 2010, more than half of the

occupied persons (56.4%) worked in road transport and nearly a third in

logistics (29.0%).

Labour mobility: As concerns labour mobility, people can move from job to

job within the same transport company, from company to company within

the same transport (sub)sector, between different (sub)sectors and/or

between different regions or countries (geographical mobility).

Number of vacancies: Compared to employment figures, vacancies are

much more vulnerable to cyclical factors and economic conditions and must

be interpreted as such. For the EU-27 the figures point towards a decline of

labour demand in transport for the period 2008-2011. No recent figures on

vacancies are available. Expectations are that after the economic crisis

labour demand will rise again.

Job requirements/ job types: In the transport sector, there is a general

trend towards job polarisation (employers mainly look for highly or lowly

qualified workers, not for medium qualified workers). Furthermore, demand

for IT personnel and multi-skill jobs increases. At all skill levels, most jobs

in demand will be more and more characterised by non-routine tasks which

are not easily replaced by technology or organisational change.

Prognoses labour demand 2020: Future employment trends in transport

depend on a number of factors such as the development of trade and

economic activities, an ageing population and people's mobility patterns,

technological developments, energy availability and prices, measures

towards sustainable transport, alternative transport modes etc.

In the period 2010-2020 total employment in the transport and storage

sector in the EU-27 is expected to decrease with annually 0.1%; the

decrease being concentrated in non-transport related labour. Significant

employment losses are expected in warehousing and support activities.

Land transport is on average, whereas employment increases in water

transport and air transport.

Overall, employment of transport-related occupations is expected to remain

constant over the next decade. Results per occupation are closely related to

20

the employment results for individual sectors of industry. Results per

occupation are closely related to the employment results for individual

sectors of industry. For instance, the significant increases for air controllers,

air traffic safety technicians, aircraft pilots, conductors (to some extent)

and travel attendants are closely related to the employment increase in air

transport. Similar reasoning applies to ships’ personnel. Conversely,

employment of land transport related occupations is expected to decrease..

3.1.2 Specific demand trends inland waterway transport

Employment development (number of jobs)

The figure and table below illustrate the development of employment in inland

waterway transport.

Looking at water transport as a whole, figure 3.1 shows that employment

fluctuates more than in the sector transportation and storage (excl. postal and

courier activities) as a whole. In general, the employment development in water

transport is more favourable than in the transport sector as a whole. However,

this does not go for each year.

Figure 3.1 Employment development (yearly change in occupied persons, in %) in

water transport and transportation and storage (excl. postal and courier

activities) as a whole, EU 27, 2003-2010

-3,00

-2,00

-1,00

0,00

1,00

2,00

3,00

4,00

5,00

6,00

2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

transportation and storage excl. postal and courier activities

water transport

Source: Panteia based on Eurostat

In 2010, IWT accounted for 0,5% of the employment in the sector transportation

and storage (excl. postal and courier activities) as a whole in the EU 27. That

year, in total 42,200 persons were occupied in IWT (against 43,100 in 2009 and

44,300 in 2008). These employed persons in 2010 were spread over passenger

(16,500) and freight transport (25,700).

Whereas the maritime transport sector is dominated by large and highly capital-

intensive shipping companies, the IWT sector is composed mainly by

independent ‘single-vessel-operating’ family businesses with traditional family

crews, supplemented by hired personnel.

21

Table 3.1 Employment (occupied persons, in 1000s) in water transport (sea/coastal

and inland) and transportation and storage (excl. postal and courier

activities) as a whole, EU 27, 2008, 2009 and 2010

2008 2009 2010 Change

2009-2010

(in 1000s)

Total 9571,7 9433,5 9344,7 -88,8

Water transport 259,2 258,9 256,5 -2,4

- Sea and coastal passenger 91,2 90,3 86,1 -4,1

- Sea and coastal freight 117,1 119,0 120,8 1,8

Total sea and coastal 208,3 209,2 206,9 -2,3

- Inland passenger 17,2 16,6 16,5 -0,5

- Inland freight 27,1 26,5 25,7 0,4

Total inland 44,3 43,1 42,2 -0,1

Source: Panteia based on Eurostat

Within water transport1 there’s a similar age distribution as in land transport (see

figure 3.2). The share of young workers (15-24 years of age) is less than the EU

overall average. The share of workers aged 24-49 equals approximately the EU

overall share of workers aged 25-49 and the share of workers aged 50 years or

older exceeds the EU overall share. Ageing seems to be an issue.

Figure 3.2 Age of employees in water transport (2010)

Source: Panteia, based on Eurostat LFS.

1 Data includes IWT, but Maritime dominates the figures in terms of averages.

22

In water transport the share of male workers largely exceeds the share of female

workers. 80% of all employees in water transport are male (see figure 3.3).

Figure 3.3 Gender of employees in water transport (2010)

Source: Panteia, based on Eurostat LFS.

According to Van der Aa (2008) the development of employment statistics shows

a rather stable number of employees in IWT over the last years. There are,

however, some differences between countries, e.g. in the Rhine corridor the

development of employment in the Netherlands was better than in Belgium and

Germany. In Central and Eastern European countries, since EU accession, the

downward trend of the 1990s has more or less halted and employment figures

stabilised1.

According to a study of the EP (2009), in the IWT sector the demand for nautical

personnel has increased. Unfortunately, it is unclear how far the labour markets

can meet this demand. It is a fact, though, that the sector has been confronted

by a growing shortage of qualified personnel. As with maritime transport, the

demand for hired personnel is expected to decrease in the short to medium term

as a consequence of the economic crisis. It is expected, though, that there will

be a further increase in the demand for IWT services once the crisis is over2.

Labour mobility

In the IWT sector in particular the family background determines the inflow into

the profession, i.e. most IWT entrepreneurs have an IWT family background.

However, fewer youngsters with an IWT family background are choosing a career

in inland waterway transport as a consequence of its low compatibility with social

and family life. But those who do choose a career as an IWT entrepreneur mainly

see this as a choice for life (contrary to seafarers in the maritime transport

1 Aa van der R. et al. (2008), Monitor maritieme arbeidsmarkt 2008, NML, table 2.58. 2 European Commission (2011), Medium and long term perspectives of IWT in the European

Union.

23

sector). Among the hired crew members, the main reasons for returning ashore

are low compatibility with social and family life, but also high workloads and low

wages1.

According to EBU and ESO, job mobility with other sectors already occurs but

could be further facilitated. Unnecessary barriers, such as the requirement for

boatmasters to have four years’ experience on a vessel, should be removed

according to EBU and ESO. International mobility is already facilitated in most EU

Member States; Romania will be de added in 2014.

ETF points at the phenomenon of ‘hop-on, hop-off workers’. These workers stay

on the ship for one travel and when they find another ship that pays more they

hop-on to the next one.

Job requirements/job types

There is not much standardisation for jobs in IWT. This is due to a lack of

harmonisation of professional qualification and manning requirements for

boatmasters2 and all other personnel. Apart from nautical skills other aspects

such as business management, ICT linguistic capabilities and logistical know-how

will become more relevant given the major challenges for IWT to further

integrate in intermodal transport chains and to become familiar with and be able

to apply new ICT-technology. These new skills may not, however, be developed

at the cost of traditional nautical skills which must be retained 3.

According to ETF, for sailing particular river stretches some Member States, for

instance Germany, require additional “Streckenkenntnisse”, i.e. knowledge of the

specific river. As this is required for some of the German rivers, this indicates a

protectionist and monopolist policy. Moreover as on some rivers the volume of

transport is decreasing also the number boatmasters to be trained is falling and

at the same time the number of experienced pilots that can accompany a

boatmaster is decreasing.

Prognoses labour demand 2020

In the framework of this project an employment forecast for the period 2010-

2020 by broad transport subsector has been prepared. The model used

comprised 10 EU countries (called EU10 here): Poland, Germany, France, United

Kingdom, Italy, Spain, The Netherlands, Sweden, the Czech Republic, and

Slovenia. These countries have been chosen in view of data availability and being

representative for the transport sector in the EU27 as a whole. The model has

been designed from basic economic principles, i.e. by deriving factor demand

from expected production – which is exogenous – and relative factor prices

assuming profit maximising behaviour by enterprises.

1 European Parliament (2009), The Shortage of Qualified Personnel in Maritime and Inland

Waterway Transport. 2 Europe Economics, Impact assessment and evaluation study "Proposal for a legal

instrument on the harmonisation of boatmaster's certificates in inland Waterway

transport" 2012. 3 European Commission (2011), Medium and long term perspectives of IWT in the European

Union.

24

Table 3.2 gives a summary of the results of the forecast for production, labour

productivity and employment in EU10 for the transport sector as a whole and the

subsector water transport.

Table 3.2 Summary results employment scenario 2010-2020 for EU10,

transport sector as a whole and subsector water transport

transportation and storage excl. postal and courier activities; NACE Rev. 2 49 -52

2010/'15 2015/'20 2010/'20

average annual change in %

real gross value added (f.c.) 1.2 1.3 1.2

labour productivity 1.4 1.3 1.3

total employment -0.1 -0.0 -0.1

water transport; NACE Rev. 2 50

2010/'15 2015/'20 2010/'20

average annual change in %

real gross value added (f.c.) 1.3 1.4 1.3

labour productivity 0.4 0.3 0.4

total employment 0.9 1.1 1.0

Source: Panteia

Whereas employment in the transport sector as whole is expected to decrease

(in 2010-2020 annually -0,1%), employment in water transport is expected to

increase (+1,0%).

The 10 countries under review make up 73% of total employment in the EUR27

transport sector. Considering this, employment results for EU10 have been

inflated to EUR27 by applying EU10 occupational-specific growth rates to 2010

employment levels for EUR27 (see table 4.1 in section 4.1).

Overall, employment of transport-related occupations is expected to remain

constant over the next decade (in the period 2010-2020 annually 0.0%).

However, there are significant increases for the most important IWT occupations:

ships’ deck crews, ships’ deck officers and pilots and ships’ engineers (annually

+0.4%, +1.0% and +0.8%). This is closely related to the expected employment

increase in IWT.

3.2 Trends in supply

3.2.1 General trends in supply


Workforce EU transport: Total labour supply in transport-related

occupations amounts to 11.2 million persons in EU27 in 2010. On average,

two third has a job in the transport sector, others are working in other

sectors of industry or are unemployed.

25

Ageing and the gender issue: Ageing: The demographic pattern in

transport is worrying: within ten to fifteen years a substantial part of the

labour force will move into retirement. The gender issue: The transport

sector is largely male-dominated. Besides this male working culture, also

the less favourable job quality (employment and work quality) is a

hindrance for women to work in the sector.

Labour market reserves: Labour market reserves comprise amongst

others the following categories: unemployed, returners, potential employees

currently working in other sectors (horizontal inflow) and labour migrants.

As concerns labour migrants, apart from Eastern EU nationals working in

Western Europe, an important development is the increasing deployment of

3rd country nationals in the EU transport sector.

Prognoses labour supply 2020: To forecast the labour supply for

transport-related occupations in the period 2010-2020, two scenarios have

been used. Scenario 1 keeps the current rates by age and occupation

category constant. Scenario 2 assumes that for the 2010 cohorts

participation rates do not change except for the oldest group. In scenario 1,

total supply for transport-related labour decreases from 11.6 million

persons in 2010, to 11.5 million persons in 2020, this is an average

decrease of 0.1% annually. In scenario 2 the labour supply for transport-

related occupations increases from 11.5 million persons in 2010, to 13.2

million persons in 2020, i.e. by 1.3% annually.

3.2.2 Specific supply trends inland waterway transport

Ageing and the gender issue

The demographic pattern of the IWT workforce is a growing problem: personnel

in IWT is relatively aged.1 Many current workers will stop their career soon.

Labour market reserves

Labour migrants

The most common way of filling labour shortages in IWT is by employing skilled

crew members from new Member-States as well as of third countries. In contrast

to the earlier situation, these employees - often employed by manning agencies -

are not generally remunerated at the old Member-States’ wages but often at so-

called market rates, sometimes declaring themselves to be self-employed.

Furthermore, they work on a near casual basis, i.e. working for a few weeks on

one ship and then moving on to the next, often with no rest periods. This is also

the case on the Danube with crew coming from Croatia, Serbia, Ukraine. 2

Over the last years, in the Netherlands the share of labour migrants (mainly

Eastern-Europeans and Filipinas)3 in the total workforce of IWT has substantially

1 As a result of the economic crisis, some captain/owners even postpone their retirement,

because they can’t sell their vessel. See: Article ‘Arbeidsmarkt binnenvaart: genoeg te

doen en een wereld te winnen’, IN: Maritiem Nederland, May 2013. 2 COM(2006) 6 final. Communication from the Commission on the promotion of inland

waterway transport “NAIADES” 3 Silos, J. M., Piniella, F., Monedero, J. & Walliser, J. ‘Trends in the global market for

crews: A case study’ 2012

26

increased.1 This also goes for other Western-European countries. According to

EBU and ESO, the sector has filled labour shortages with Eastern-Europeans and

Filipinas. However, this reserve on the labour market is not endless.

Furthermore, operators increasingly prefer to employ national crew members (at

least in the Dutch market) because of the regained trust in the quality and better

social conditions when a single language is spoken. Crew members from 3 rd

countries are hardly present anymore as employers can not get working permits

anymore.

ETF also points out that workers from Indonesia, Philippines and China are fill ing

the gap in the IWT labour supply. They sometimes even accept to work for nine

months without days-off.


“We do not have foreign employees at the moment. However, we are thinking about recruiting

foreign workers because of labour shortages. In particular we would be interested in qualified

Polish, Czech, Romanian and Slovakian employees who have their qualifications. So we expect

an increase of such workers, mostly because they can work here more easily due to European

integration. Workers from outside the EU are not to be found with us. However, there are some

other IWT companies who employ Philippine deckhands”.


Horizontal inflow

In IWT in the EU, there is large potential for horizontal inflow. This horizontal

inflow potential mainly involves former seafarers, but could also apply to people

coming from other sectors. However, the qualification requirements represent a

barrier, particularly for the latter group.2

Prognoses labour supply 2020

In scenario 1 the supply of the most relevant IWT occupations - ships’ deck

crews, ships’ deck officers and pilots and ships’ engineers - show the same

growth rate as the average for all transport-related occupational categories (in

2010-2020 annually -0.1%). In scenario 2 the percentage for ships’ deck crews,

ships’ deck officers and pilots and ships’ engineers are lower (1.1%) than

average (1.3%) (see table 4.1 in section 4.1).

1 Article ‘Arbeidsmarkt binnenvaart: genoeg te doen en een wereld te winnen’, IN: Maritiem

Nederland, May 2013. 2 European Parliament (2009), The Shortage of Qualified Personnel in Maritime and Inland

Waterway Transport.

27

4 Discrepancies EU inland waterway

transport labour market

The section describes discrepancies on the EU inland waterway transport labour

market. Successively, we go into quantitative discrepancies, qualitative

discrepancies and information asymmetries.

4.1 Quantitative discrepancies

4.1.1 General quantitative discrepancies

We can speak of quantitative discrepancies where there are not enough

sufficiently qualified school leavers or job seekers in (a subsector of) the

transport sector as a whole (labour shortage) or where there are not enough

vacancies to make use of the supply (labour surplus).

The following trends seem to hold for the EU transport labour market as a whole:

Current labour shortages/surpluses: Many transport branches already

report serious structural labour shortages, in particular for mobile jobs. As a

result of the economic crisis, these shortages are temporarily mitigated.

Prognoses labour shortages/surpluses 2020: In view of the ageing

population in Europe and competition among transport branches and

companies to attract (young) workers, labour shortages will cause serious

problems for the transport sector in the future. . Whereas the employment of

transport-related occupations is expected to remain constant over the next

decade, labour supply falls in both scenarios. The largest discrepancies are

expected for aircraft staff, ship’s deck officers and pilots, and travel

attendants and stewards. This is in particular cumbersome for the transport

sector’s development because most of these specific occupations’

employment is found in the transport sector itself (by way of comparison:

many drivers do not actually work in the transport sector).

4.1.2 Specific quantitative discrepancies inland waterway

transport

Current labour shortages/surpluses

According to Van der Aa et al. the trend of gradually increasing staff shortages in

maritime and inland waterway transport manifested itself already 5-10 years ago

in some Member States. So far, the sector has not come up with strategies for

recruitment and human resources development that could halt this

development1.

The shortage of qualified personnel in maritime and inland waterway transport

has become a major problem. As a result of economic and trade growth, both

1 Aa van der R. et al. (2008), Monitor maritieme arbeidsmarkt 2008, NML, table 2.58.

28

maritime and inland waterway transport volumes have experienced a steep

increase in recent years. This high demand for transport services has triggered a

growing demand for qualified nautical personnel. The labour markets have not

been able to respond to this demand, leading to a shortage of qualified personnel

in both transport sectors. Although the European Union has already sought to

address the problem on several occasions, there is still an acute need for

seafaring skills and maritime expertise (not only at sea but also on shore and in

the inland waterway sector). If the current shortage continues to increase in the

coming years, it will be to the detriment of the maritime/logistics industry

(including the inland waterway sector), which needs maritime expertise and

experience.1

As mentioned earlier, contrary to the maritime transport sector (dominated by

large and highly capital-intensive shipping companies), the IWT sector is

composed mainly by independent ‘single-vessel-operating’ family businesses with

traditional family crews, supplemented by hired personnel. Less demand for

transport as a result of the crisis is having an impact on these businesses. The

harder the market conditions, the less new entrepreneurs will be willing to start

an IWT business. At the same time, some entrepreneurs will undoubtedly be

facing financial problems. Many of them have made considerable investments in

new ships and when freight rates are dropping, some IWT businesses will find

themselves in a difficult position to bear the capital and running costs. Lower

inflow into the profession and the disappearance of existing businesses will lead

to a relative decline of the fleet expansion and a decreasing demand for hired

personnel in the medium term. In the long run, this lower inflow will most likely

lead to a renewed shortage of personnel. A lower inflow ‘now’ means that fewer

people will obtain the qualifications to start their own IWT business ‘in the

future’.2

The EESC also points at a serious structural labour shortage in IWT (both on the

Rhine and Danube) in both freight and passenger transport 3.

According to Commission staff however, there is no hard quantitative evidence of

the amount of labour (and skill) shortages in the IWT sector, apart from

statements that lack a solid underpinning.4 If there are shortages, they seem to

occur mainly in Western Europe. Ageing of the workforce is however a growing

problem as many current workers will stop soon and few new people enter the

labour market, resulting in (larger) shortages in the future.

In the view of EBU and ESO, at the moment the labour market in IWT seems to

be in balance. There are no significant shortages and all qualified people have

work. This is, however, mainly due to the crisis. Another reason for the current

limited shortages is that many older vessel-owner-operators have been forced to


Waterway Transport. 2 European Parliament (2009), The Shortage of Qualified Personnel in Maritime and Inland

Waterway Transport. 3 EESC (2011), TEN/445. Social aspects of EU Transport Policy. 4 Limited knowledge is available however from two studies from 2009. The Commission

only get general signals from studies, member states and from the sector, but no hard

facts.

29

delay their retirement because of the dropped value of the vessels they invested

in. After the crisis, shortages are foreseen again. In particular, shortages are

expected for specialisms such as dangerous goods, passenger transport and

LNG-powered vessels (currently the training and education cover all aspects, but

specialisms are under pressure). A quantitative view is difficult to give,

especially considering the suspicions that manning requirements are not always

entirely fulfilled, making analysis of the actual situation on the labour market

difficult.

In the view of ETF, there is labour shortage, mainly due to low attractiveness of

IWT professions/occupations to new generation (a-typical working patterns,

difficulties to combine work with family life). There are no specific figures on how

big this shortage is. However, the shortage is approximated to 15 to 30%,

depending on the specific type of job.


“Our company consists of two parts: IWT company and temporary working agency. At the

moment we do experience an increase in personnel. Lower educated/skilled personnel is

relatively easy to find. Once we need senior personnel (higher educated/skilled), we can-not

find enough people. It is particularly hard to find qualified personnel for the chemical transport,

especially qualified captains. On the Rhine the captain has to have, what we call, a patent.

There are quite some people who have this patent, but they do not possess experience with

chemical transport.

To address this problem apprentices are placed on all ships to develop their experience and let

them attain all qualifications they need. However, gaining these qualifications takes time, so in

the short term it remains difficult to find the right employees. A captain needs a number of

years of experience before he can really do his job.”.


Prognoses labour shortages/surpluses 2020

The table below compares the employment scenario for transport-related

occupations in the transport sector with the supply of transport-related

occupations in the whole economy. Employment in the most relevant maritime

transport related occupations - ships’ deck crews, ships’ deck officers and pilots

and ships’ engineers - increases during 2010-2020. Labour supply in these

occupations decreases slightly in scenario 1; in scenario 2 it increases, roughly in

line with the expected employment increase.

30

Table 4.1 Transport-related labour: employment in transport and labour

supply in the whole economy, EU27, 2010 -2020

occupational category

2010 2020 2010 2020 2010 2020

supply, distribution and related managers 386 385 0.0 406 403 -0.1 406 455 1.1

air traffic controllers 27 31 1.3 28 28 -0.1 28 32 1.1

air traffic safety electronics technicians 13 15 1.7 40 39 -0.1 40 44 1.1

aircraft pilots and related associate professionals 39 46 1.7 50 50 -0.1 50 56 1.1

bus and tram drivers 968 961 -0.1 1,326 1,341 0.1 1,326 1,625 2.1

car, taxi and van drivers 1,180 1,193 0.1 2,155 2,158 0.0 2,155 2,448 1.3

crane, hoist and related plant operators 24 23 -0.1 441 438 -0.1 441 494 1.1

freight handlers 295 290 -0.2 1,657 1,610 -0.3 1,657 1,894 1.3

heavy truck and lorry drivers 1,942 1,882 -0.3 3,314 3,284 -0.1 3,314 3,679 1.1

lifting truck operators 175 174 -0.1 684 672 -0.2 684 793 1.5

locomotive engine drivers 272 292 0.7 687 683 -0.1 687 770 1.1

motorcycle drivers 58 57 -0.2 123 122 -0.1 123 138 1.1

railway brake, signal and switch operators 66 70 0.6 185 183 -0.1 185 207 1.1

ships' deck crews and related workers 43 45 0.4 50 50 -0.1 50 56 1.1

ships' deck officers and pilots 24 27 1.0 25 25 -0.1 25 29 1.1

ships' engineers 25 27 0.8 69 69 -0.1 69 78 1.1

transport conductors 174 186 0.7 183 182 -0.1 183 205 1.1

travel attendants and travel stewards 168 196 1.5 177 176 -0.1 177 198 1.1

total 5,879 5,899 0.0 11,601 11,514 -0.1 11,601 13,202 1.3

[1]

[2]

employment transport-related

occupations in transport, EU27

levels (1,000s)levels (1,000s)levels (1,000s)

supply of transport-related occupations, whole economy, EU27

scenario 2 [2]scenario 1[1]

constant age-specif ic participation rates

maximum age-specif ic/constant cohort-specif ic rates

annual change

2010/'20 (% p.a.)

annual change

2010/'20 (% p.a.)

annual change

2010/'20 (% p.a.)

Source: Panteia

4.2 Qualitative discrepancies

4.2.1 General qualitative discrepancies

Qualitative discrepancies occur where there is both sufficient supply of labour

and a sufficient number of vacancies, but where the demands and wishes of

employees and employers regarding level of qualification, content and

organisation of the work diverge.


Current skills shortages and deficiencies in training and career

opportunities: Training employees is required in order to meet up with

increasing requirements. Training opportunities for employees are limited

(especially for low-educated and old workers), but improving.

Human capital perspective: prognoses skill shortages 2020: For this

specific element it is referred to the Working Document on job quality.

Job quality: Job quality contributes to the working image of a sector

and/or profession and by that to the possibilities to recruit and retain

personnel. A distinction can be made between employment and work

quality. Employment quality: Pay is relatively low in most transport

professions and occupations. Delocalisation of transport jobs and social

dumping practices occur. To cut costs, pension and early retirement

schemes are being restructured. Working times are often irregular and in

particular mobile workers have to cope with regular and (very) long

absences from home. Possibilities for part-time work are less than in other

sectors. Work quality: Work autonomy in transport is relatively low.

Problems caused by heavy physical work have been replaced by stress

derived from time-pressures and efficiency improvements, thereby shifting

from physical to social or psychological problems. Transport is with reason

considered a dangerous activity (occurrence of accidents, public violence,

organized crime/piracy). Work intensity has increased (due amongst others

31

to increased traffic congestion and the use of ‘lean’ strategies or

increasingly tight scheduled transport services)

Job attractiveness: The satisfaction of transport workers with working

conditions (2.88 on a 4-point scale) and their motivation to perform (3.42

on a 5-point scale) are higher than their satisfaction with wage (2.97 on a

5-point scale).

The three variables influencing satisfaction with working conditions the most

are: 1) job giving the feeling of work well done; 2) working hours fitting in

with family or social commitments; 3) feeling of possibly losing job.

The three variables influencing satisfaction with wage the most are: 1)

satisfaction with working conditions (another main indicator); 2) wage; 3)

job giving the feeling of work well done.

The three variables influencing motivation to perform the most are: 1)

having good friends at work; 2) satisfaction with working conditions

(another main indicator); 3) feeling of doing useful work

Quality of life: In general, a strong relationship exists between job quality

and life satisfaction of workers.

4.2.2 Specific qualitative discrepancies inland waterway

transport

Current skills shortages and deficiencies in training and career

opportunities

Initial VET

The educational level of IWT students/workers is mostly low or medium. Not all

graduates from IWT education look for jobs in inland waterway sector.

The shares of theoretical and practical components in training are different

among countries. Finishing vocational training, depending on country after 1 to 4

years, the basic profession boatman is achieved1.

According to EBU and ESO, currently the schools in the Netherlands have

increasing numbers of IWT students, and they all find places to gain practical

experience. However, the situation is different in other countries, even in

Germany. As 80-90% of the Rhine-fleet is privately owned, there seems to be

less appetite to provide training and education in these countries

In general, the quality and diversity of the training and education supply is an

issue however, as vocational training possibilities are largely missing.

Skill shortages

It is important to note that the nature of the shortage problem in IWT is distinct

for different types of functions on board of vessels. For the operational / support

level (boatmen, deckhands) IWT companies do not assess the situation as

critical. Auxiliary personnel can be hired and trained quite quickly. On the other

hand, for the higher qualified functions (captains, steersmen) the situation is

very critical. In this respect one should also observe that, because of the use of

1 European Commission (2011), Medium and long term perspectives of IWT in the European

Union.

32

more advanced technologies and advances in logistics, there is a gradual

autonomous relative increase in the demand for this type of staff. E.g. in the

Netherlands in the period 2000-2007 there has been an increase of about 10% in

the need of staff with a higher professional or academic education1.

The lack of qualified staff is amongst others due to high barriers to change jobs

in IWT, lack of continuous recruitment strategies, lack of predictable leisure

times, unknown career opportunities in combination with a low profile and the

general image of the inland waterway sector2.

ETF points at the fact, that some Member States provide people with a license to

navigate a ship after having been on a ship for more than 4 years. They do not

take into consideration the nature of job performed on the ship. Therefore,

someone who was working in the kitchen of the ship for 4 years can become a

captain of this ship. Thus, in this respect practical examination is recommended.

Deficiencies in training and career opportunities

Job profiles are insufficiently harmonised across Europe: increasing international

traffic (e.g. between Rhine and Danube corridor) and labour migration have

revealed shortcomings in terms of mutual recognition of professional and

equivalent qualifications (due to different education standards), knowledge of

foreign waterways (river certificates) and language skills3.

Subsequently to basic vocational training further qualification of workers during

their IWT career is important to meet requirements of high-qualified staff.

Building on the basic profession boatman additional theoretical knowledge and

experience on-board is included in the course to become helmsman. Helmsman

may further graduate to become boat master. Boatman with sufficient experience

receives patents for particular rivers such as the Rhine patent. For higher

qualifications other courses such as radar, radiophone and handling of dangerous

goods are required in most countries4.

(Potential) obstacles to training and career opportunities are according to

Commission staff amongst others:

Company size: The structure of IWT companies differs strongly between

Danube countries which are dominated by former state-owned companies

and the Rhine. And even there differences can be seen between the Benelux

where still many family-run companies exist and Germany where the

average company size is a bit bigger. This has an impact of training and

career opportunities.

Length of career path: Though the education style differs per country (e.g.

a system based on military tradition in the Danube area, while in North-

Western Europe this is less hierarchical), the career path in IWT is long. To

become a boatmaster, which is prerequisite to run ones own business, takes

1 Aa van der R. et al. (2008), Monitor maritieme arbeidsmarkt 2008, NML, table 2.58. 2 European Commission (2011), Medium and long term perspectives of IWT in the European

Union. 3 European Commission (2011), Medium and long term perspectives of IWT in the European

Union. 4 European Commission (2011), Medium and long term perspectives of IWT in the European

Union.

33

continual training in the first 6 to 9 years. This is considered a bit

anachronistic and unattractive. However, not everyone in IWT wants to run

its own business. The basic profession 'boatman' can already be achieved

after 1 – 4 years of experience depending on the country.

Language skills: Another risk factor to the accession to the IWT profession

are the language skills which present also a barrier to cross border mobility

in this sector.

According to EBU and ESO, the educational network needs further examination,

as the schools do not seem safe in some countries where there are no significant

own fleets.


“When students come on board, the first thing we run into is there inability to cook and do other

household chores, things that are important for daily life on board. Also, technological

developments play a central role, especially IT for navigation, communication and so on. These

skills are paramount to IWT.

There are different educational programmes, but not everything fits with what we require from

employees. Especially the practical side of IWT is hard to learn at school. Simulators can give

students a reasonable good idea of life on board, but mostly they are only theoretically trained.

Therefore, they have to learn (the practical side of) the trade on board. So, learning on the job

is crucial for IWT”.


Human capital perspective: prognoses skill shortages 2020

Shortages are expected for specialisms such as dangerous goods, passenger

transport and LNG-powered vessels. Currently the training and education covers

all aspects, but specialisms are under pressure.

Job quality (excl. training and career opportunities)

General

The younger generation is less interested in the sector because of the

unfavourable work/family life balance, long working hours and unattractive

working conditions (in particular the long periods away from home).1

Employment quality: Remuneration and benefits

Potential earnings are an important determinant of the attractiveness of IWT for

employees.

Table 4.2 shows the average wage per employee in 2009, for four broader

transport sectors compared to the total business economy (excl. financial and

insurance activities) in the EU 27 (based on EUROSTAT’s Structural Business

Statistics – SBS).

1 EESC (2011), TEN/445. Social aspects of EU Transport Policy.

34

Table 4.2 Average wage per employee by broader transport sector in the EU 27, 2009 (in

Euro's)

Country Total

business

economy

except

financial

and

insurance

activities

Land

transport

and

transport via

pipelines

Water

transport

Air

transport

Warehousing

and support

activities for

transportation

European

Union (27

countries)

23.666 21.351 n/a 49.503 27.992

Source: SBS (Eurostat)

On the basis of this source, there is no information of the average wage per

employee in the broader water transport sector in the EU 27.

According to a publication of the EC, salaries in IWT increased moderately in the

past years in Western Europe and the wages differ approximately between

€14,000 per year for an ordinary seaman and €35,000 per year for a

boatmaster1.

According to ETF, employers are searching for cheaper labour, for instance in the

Far East. The EU legislation leaves loopholes facilitating this practice (e.g. it is

not clear what social security policy applies to the IWT).

Employment quality: Job flexibility (working hours, working time arrangement,

time flexibility)

The IWT sector is characterised by highly mobile work. The most popular working

schedule is 2-weeks on, 2-weeks off.

As mentioned earlier, in 2012 the sectoral social partners signed an agreement

on rules regarding the working time of passenger or cargo transport ships in

inland waterways across the EU. The new agreement takes account of the

distinctive working conditions in this sector, while ensuring a high level of

protection for these workers' health and safety. It covers both crew members

and shipboard personnel (for example hotel and catering workers on board a

passenger transport ship).

1 European Commission (2011), Medium and long term perspectives of IWT in the

European Union.

35


“Irregular working hours have an effect on family life and so on. However, most of the people

choosing for a job in IWT know what they are opting in for and accept to work 14 days and be

on leave for the next 14 days. Often people quit the sector at a later stage in their life (partly

as a result of acquiring higher functions)”.


Work quality: Work autonomy

An important advantage according to EBU and ESO is the freedom associated

with the IWT professions/occupations.

Work quality: Physical working conditions, health variables and risks of accidents

The work in IWT is physically demanding and not always very safe . A

comparatively high sickness leave is the consequence.

Work quality: Psychosocial risk factors

According to Commission staff for entering an IWT profession/occupation –

besides the specific ambition to become a boatman – the willingness and ability

to work and live away from home is needed (given the geographical constraints

of navigable rivers). The absence from home during working periods with

continuous journeys limits the possibilities to interact with family and friends and

also restricts the leisure-time activities.

Job attractiveness

The attractiveness of jobs in IWT depends strongly on the quality of the jobs in

this sector. As described above, job quality is a multidimensional concept that

covers many different aspects, varying from wages, formal training and

(flexibility in) working hours to health implications of work, work autonomy and

the meaningfulness of work.

The European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS) contains indicators of aspects

of job quality/job attractiveness. The table below compares the for the four

broader transport modes to the total of all sectors.

36

Table 4.3 Employees’ experience/perception of aspects of job quality/attractiveness by

broader transport mode, compared to the total of all sectors (2010, EU27)

Land Water Air Warehous

ing and

support

activities

Changes of work schedule (no) - o - o

Involvement in work organisation/processes (always) - + - -

Employee representation (yes) + + + +

Raising issues with employee representative (yes) + + + +

On-the-job training (yes) - + + +

More secure jobs because of training (yes) o n.s. n.s. +

Better employment prospects because of training (yes) - + + +

Solving unforeseen problems on one’s own (yes) + + + -

Exposure to vibrations form machinery etc (never) - - - -

Exposure to loud noise (never) - - - -

Exposure to breathing in vapours (never) + - + +

Involvement of tiring or painful positions (never) - + + o

Involvement of repetitive hand/arm movements (never) - + - -

Health or safety at risk because of work (no) - - - -

Health affected by work (no) - - - -

Short repetitive tasks (no) - + - +

Ability to choose/change speed/rate work (yes) - - - -

Feeling of doing useful work (always) - o + -

Emotionally involved in work (always) - - - -

+ = above average; o = average; - =below average

n.s. = not significant

Source: EWCS 2010

The (EWCS) also contains the following indicators of overall job quality/job

attractiveness:

Satisfaction with working conditions (how satisfied respondents are with

working conditions in their main paid job ; measured on a 4-point scale).

Satisfaction with wage (the extent to which respondents find that they are

well paid for the work they do; measured on a 5-point scale).

Motivation to perform (the extent to which respondents feel motivated by

their organisation to give their best job performance; measured on a 5-

point scale).

37

Table 4.4 Indicators of overall job quality/job satisfaction by broader transport sector

(2010, EU27)

Satisfaction with

working conditions

(4 point scale)

Satisfaction with

wage (5 point scale)

Motivation to perform

(5 point scale)

Transport sector Mean St.dev. Mean St.dev. Mean St.dev.

Land transport and transport via

pipelines 2.89 0.72 2.91 1.12 3.38 1.09

Water transport 3.14 0.75 3.74 1.09 3.72 1.1

Air transport 3.18 0.66 3.4 1.18 3.87 0.91 Warehousing and support

activities for transportation 3.01 0.66 3.22 1.26 3.43 1.16

Total transport sector 2.94 0.72 3 1.15 3.44 1.09

Source: EWCS 2010 (Eurofound)

The satisfaction with working conditions of employees in the transport sector as

a whole and their motivation to perform are higher than their satisfaction with

wage. Water transport employees score higher on satisfaction with working

conditions and satisfaction with wage than on motivation to perform. On all three

indicators, water transport employees score higher than the total group of

transport employees.

4.3 Information asymmetries

4.3.1 General information asymmetries

In the case of labour market in-transparency, the demand and supply should

actually be balanced, but employers and job seekers are unable to find to one

another due to job search and recruitment strategies that do not respond to each

other. This may also be induced by flawed images of the (sub)sector or of

(groups of) job seekers (or groups thereof) which prevent a better match of

supply and demand.


Working image: In general, the working image of the transport sector is

less favourable, mostly related to job quality (employment- and work

quality). The sector is also seen as male-dominated and old-fashioned and

conservative. Partly, the negative image is a matter of perception and/or

lack of knowledge.

Comparability/compatibility: As the labour market is becoming more and

more international, it becomes a problem if qualifications used in various

countries are difficult to compare.

Recruitment: Many modes still use traditional types of recruitment. In

general, in recruitment the transport sector does not focus on specific

target groups, such as women.

38

4.3.2 Specific information asymmetries IWT

Working image

Staff shortages in IWT stem mainly from a lack of information of young people of

the IWT sector in general and job opportunities in the sector more in particular.

Companies simply fail to present themselves as attractive employers.

According to Commission staff, the problem with raising awareness is partly due

to the small scale of the IWT sector in most countries.

In the view of EBU and ESO, the image of the sector is not helped by the rather

inward oriented character of the sector. Social image is not very high, although

comparable with other (non-transport-) sectors that do not require higher

education. In Germany there is however less of a problem as technical skilled

labour has a higher status. An important advantage is the freedom associated

with the profession.

However, according to EBU and ESO improvements have been made in the image

of the sector, as now 95% of the entrants do not come from families traditionally

involved in IWT. One way to improve the image was by presenting a more

positive view, for instance by turning negative aspects into positive things such

as customised working schedules (f.e. 2-weeks on, 2-weeks off).

Still, the less favourable image and the unawareness of young people of

(employment possibilities in) the sector remain a problem and will make

attracting employees once the crisis is over difficult.


“This negative image exists in all types of business. A recent example is the case in which a

containership, normally manned by three persons, because of illness of one person was

operated by two persons. These situations should not arise, but happen nonetheless and end up

in the media. Contrarily, most of the time everything goes very well, but for this normal

situation there is no media attention for that. Furthermore, tankers are scrutinized more heavily

(in terms of manning requirements, rest and sailing times) than other types of shipsships are

not subjected to the same scrutiny.

Recently, more awareness of the sector was raised through promotional campaigns (adds on

tv), so the sector is gaining prominence”.


Comparability/compatibility

According to Commission staff, limited comparability of qualification and

certification in IWT is problematic for worker mobility (between countries,

regions and subsectors)1.

In the current situation more than 500 different certificates are in use

throughout the entire European interconnected waterway system, of which a

large part are related to employment. This would not need to be

1 Interview Commission staff.

39

disadvantageous as long as the certificates were comparable to some extent. But

given the variety, it can be considered as a barrier to the respective enforcement

authorities to perform controls and as a barrier for IWT entrepreneurs to assess

whether a potential employee is suitable for a certain position only by the

certificate. It is simply not possible to compare all of the different national,

regional and sub-sectoral professional ranks.

Furthermore neither quantity nor quality of education, assessment and

certification is comparable to any extend since there are no comparable

curricula’s for the inland navigation educational institutes in Europe. The result is

a situation in which personnel trained and assessed in as well the highest as the

lowest standards of education/certification are active at the same time on the

waterways.

Recruitment

It is recognised that the shortage of entrepreneurs and staff is becoming a

problem for the IWT sector, given the aging of current personnel and a lack of

appeal to newcomers. The Commission and the Member States continue their

efforts to harmonise manning requirements and boat masters' certificates, and to

promote the mutual recognition of qualifications, e.g. via the European

Qualifications Framework (EQF). Recruitment strategies should be developed that

address equal gender aspects.

41

5 Reduction of discrepancies EU inland

waterway transport labour market

5.1 Introduction

Theoretically, the following strategies for reducing discrepancies on the transport

labour market can be distinguished:

1 More general solutions influencing the context of the (transport) labour

market

2 Promoting inflow:

A. Targeting labour reserves in order to attract new employees to the

sector including the recruitment of the unemployed and other groups

currently not working in the transport sector, existing immigrant groups

and labour migrants.

B. Stimulating and facilitating education for potential employees

among others the creation of new specific learning paths, of campaigns

stimulating people to choose for an educational and occupational path in

the sector and of an institutional improvement of the connection between

labour market and education in general.

3 Preventing outflow/ diminishing labour demand:

A. Improving the situation of current employees in order to optimize

their potential as well as prevent them from leaving the sector for instance

by the introduction of (re)training programs, professionalising the sector

and providing more career perspectives for existing employees and

improving the working conditions.

B. Improving the operational management/ labour productivity of

organisations for example through the use of new technologies, treatment

methods etc. and/or (innovative) changes in functions and organisation.

The solutions in all of these categories are relevant for the EU transport labour

market as a whole.

5.2 General solutions to discrepancies inland waterway

transport

Political and legal

EU policies, programs and regulations

Most relevant at EU level are the NAIADES programme and the implementation

platform PLATINA. NAIADES and its successor NAIADES II is an integrated

European action programme for inland waterway transport that was launched in

2006 and ran until 2013. The programme comprises numerous actions aimed at

promoting transport on inland waterways and tackle a number of obstacles that

could prevent IWT from being used to its full potential. Focus is being placed on

five strategic areas:

1 Improving market conditions;

2 Modernising the fleet;

42

3 Developing human capital;

4 Strengthening the image of inland navigation;

5 Improving infrastructure.

The most important strategic area in the context of this study is the development

of human capital. This includes the promotion of jobs and skills. The NAIADES

Programme identifies the improvement of working and social conditions in the

sector as one of the central challenges. The dialogue between the social partners

at European level is the most appropriate way of achieving these objectives.

Furthermore, the creation of a consistent, modernized regulatory framework for

governing qualifications in inland navigation, comes in this strategic area.

The implementation of the actions from the NAIADES II Programme is supported

by the PLATINA II platform, which was launched in October 2008. PLATINA

brings together 12 partners from seven European countries. Its tasks include:

Providing technical and organisational support to the European Commission,

Member States , third countries, River Commissions and industry in the

development and deployment of targeted policy actions implementing the

NAIADES II Action Programme.;

Organising expert meetings and working groups to ensure involvement of

administrative stakeholders on all levels;

Carrying out studies on how to implement the actions that have been

selected in the NAIADES II Programme.1

The implementation of the actions from the NAIADES Programme is supported by

the PLATINA platform, which was launched in October 2008. PLATINA brings

together 22 partners from nine European countries. Its tasks include:

Providing technical and organisational assistance through the participation

of key industrial stakeholders, associations and Member States

administrations;

Organising expert meetings and working groups;

Carrying out studies on how to implement the actions that have been

selected in the NAIADES Programme.2

In the view of EBU and ESO, in general there is little need for EU-funded

programmes and projects, but rather a level playing-field needs to be ensured.

Programmes like PLATINA and the campaign “Be your own captain” (see below)

are definitely useful, but unfortunately usually there is no view on the results

and everything seems to come to a halt when the funding stops 3.



Waterway Transport. 3 The EWITA (European Web Platforms and Training Concepts for Intermodal Inland

Waterway Transport) project is an example of a project subsidized by the EU that lacks a

follow-up. It was funded within the Marco Polo II programme of the European Commission

and provided up-to-date training concepts and state-of-the-art e-learning web platforms

for intermodal IWT in Europe. The project started on June 1, 2008 and lasted until July

31, 2010.

43

Social dialogue

The social partners in the EU agreed in 2012 on a flexible working time

arrangement containing a high level of protection of labour. This includes

working hours, breaks and leave. This agreement was presented to the

Commission for it to be made legally binding in the EU, under Article 155 of the

Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).

Technological and environmental

The RIS implementation will lead to a higher productivity and will require more

trained staff. The RIS allows a better predictability of the ships voyage including

passage time at locks and necessary rest places.

Other

To obtain a clear view on the sectoral developments and to be able to make

reliable forecasts, harmonisation of data gathering and reporting on the IWT

labour market at EU-level is recommendable. Employment statistics are

incomplete. At EU level, employment statistics are published by Eurostat, based

on NACE Rev. 1 classification. However, the Eurostat figures reflect both nautical

and land-based personnel. Moreover, it is unclear to what extent these figures

include independent entrepreneurs (who still form the majority of persons

working in the IWT sector).1

5.3 Promoting inflow

A. Targeting labour reserves

Reducing the barriers for the horizontal inflow would make the IWT profession

more attractive. Directive 96/50/EC leaves the possibility of reducing the

requisite four-year period for obtaining a boatmasters’ certificate to only one

year. This possibility does not exist in the Rhine Patent Regulation. Therefore,

the EU policy-makers could together with the CCNR and the DC look at

harmonising and facilitating horizontal inflow2.

B. Stimulating and facilitating education for potential employees

Improving the image of (study and) work in the sector

The choice of a career in the IWT sector is mainly influenced by family

background. Furthermore, the wish to travel, the desire for adventure and

opportunities for working as an independent IWT entrepreneur at a relatively

young age attracts people into the profession. These characteristics, however,

are not recognised by a large group of young people. In fact, most youngsters

who choose an IWT career for reasons other than their family background do so

because they have come into contact with the IWT sector in some way. The

location of home or upbringing is of some influence 3.




Waterway Transport.

44

At EU level, much effort has been placed on promoting maritime transport, short

sea shipping and inland navigation as environmentally friendly modes of

transport. Campaigns promoting the nautical sectors as attractive sectors for

building a career have so far only been initiated at national level. The launching

of a campaign at EU-level could be more effective and therefore the EU policy-

makers might examine the possibilities of launching such a campaign 1.

Promotional campaigns helping to raise awareness are – in the view of

Commission staff - most effective when organised by national labour offices. A

good example is the Dutch initiative ‘Be your own captain’. It comprises a

strategy for recruitment and human resources development (including life-long

learning) that could stop the trend of gradually increasing staff shortages.

Objective of this initiative are - amongst others – stimulating youngsters to

follow an IWT education and to create motivated (future) employees2.

According to ETF recruitment campaigns in the framework of NAIADES/PLATINA

addressing the problem of low attractiveness/labour shortages in IWT, did not

really respond to this problem.

Initial VET/ VET standards

A certain and commonly acknowledged degree of training standards in IWT is

necessary to ensure a better functioning labour market but also for safe

navigation and to allow a modal shift towards better use of inland waterways in

the European transport in the long term.

According to the EESC, a harmonised system could include a professional

education and certification of boatmasters and boatmen according to a pre-

defined set of commonly acknowledged professional competencies. The education

and assessment of all European IWT personnel should be executed according to

these competencies. A role model for the European IWT sector could be the

Maritime sector, in which mandatory training and certification standards are

already implemented.

It is agreed that a sheer mutual recognition of boat masters and boatman

certificates is the less complicated and by far cheaper solution to erase barriers

for the European IWT workers to the entire European IWT labour market, since

there would be negotiations about the terms of such recognitions and no

negotiations about common standards of training and certifications. But this

measure would maintain the current situation, in which more than 500 different

certificates of which are large part are related to employment, are in use

throughout the entire European interconnected waterway system3.


Waterway Transport. 2 http://www.beyourowncaptain.nl. 3 EESC (2011), TEN/445. Social aspects of EU Transport Policy.

http://www.beyourowncaptain.nl/

45

Apart from more general EU initiatives as NAIADES/PLATINA (see above), the

following sectoral initiatives in the field of education/training are relevant:

EDINNA (Education in Inland Navigation), a cooperative scheme between 20

European IWT schools and educational establishments (launched in February

2009). The scheme aims to establish the harmonisation of minimum

qualification standards in IWT education (analogous to STCW in maritime

transport) that will be applicable in all EU Member States1. EBU and ESO

consider EDINNA as an excellent initiative, but there seem to be problems

with implementation of the standards in some Eastern-European countries

as the institutes there are strongly associated with maritime transport.

There are also fears that countries with no significant own fleet (for instance

Germany and the Czech Republic) will have reduced interest in education.

Ongoing work on EU harmonised job profiles (skipper and sailor) – this will

be the formal basis for unified minimum training standards in EU IWT.

Ongoing work on STCIN (European standards on training and certification in

Inland Navigation).

The CCNR (Central Commission for Navigation on the Rhine) functions as

the knowledge centre for IWT in Europe. It is harmonising the boatmasters'

certificate via the mutual recognition system though resulting at the same

time in a dual system, comprised of a system for the Rhine (and countries

participating in the agreements with CCNR) on the one hand and a system

for Europe (or beyond) on the other hand. The CCNR is commissioned by

the EC to research and publish six-monthly market observations which

include social and economic data so that reliable information is available. In

cooperation with the CCNR a unique identification system is being

researched and developed: not only will it show workers' identity, but it will

also monitor/map working/resting and free time and

education/training/certification2.

5.4 Preventing outflow/ diminishing labour demand

A. Improving the situation of current employees

Training and career opportunities

According to EESC, it is the task of the European Sectoral Social Dialogue to

discuss about (initial and lifelong) training needs and programmes. The

Commission may support the exercise through its funding training programmes. 3

According to Commission staff, whether or not experienced, there are no

shortcuts for modal exchange of workers between the maritime and inland

1 As a first stage, Member States can independently decide how these minimum standards

will be integrated in their national educational structures. As a second stage the platform

will examine the opportunities for harmonising educational structures. As a third stage

the harmonised education system will be enhanced by matching the training to the real

demands of the sector, i.e. with less theory and more practical experience. See:

European Parliament (2009), The Shortage of Qualified Personnel in Maritime and Inland

Waterway Transport. 2 EESC (2011), TEN/445. Social aspects of EU Transport Policy. 3 EC (20076), Communication of the Commission on the promotion of inland waterways,

NAIADES - The point of view of the ETF

46

waterway transport sector (and vice versa). This transition from one mode to

another could be facilitated by training programmes using simulators. In the

Netherlands, such programmes are already running. Other countries are more

sceptical as this would primarily be a way to cut costs.

Employment quality (excl. training and career opportunities)

Besides improvement of the working conditions (see below), according to

Commission staff higher wages theoretically contribute to the retention of

employees in IWT. However, even if working conditions are better and wages are

higher, the reconciliation of professional and private life remains difficult in IWT.

Work quality

The EESC recommends introducing additional legislative measures on manning

standards on board maritime and inland waterway vessels in order to guarantee

quality and safety1.

ETF’s ‘Rivercruise Campaign’ aims to improve the working conditions for all crew

members of IWT. It provides questionnaires to gain insight into the working

conditions of crew members and stimulates crew members to join trade unions

(by paying visits to vessels; promoting on the websites/providing information

about and the benefits from joining a trade union).2

B. Improving the operational management/ labour productivity

In the view of EBU and ESO innovations will (need to) take place in the IWT

sector. Technological advances take their own way. Innovations make people

working in the sector be proud of their work and contributes to a better public

image of the sector.

1 EESC (2011), TEN/445. Social aspects of EU Transport Policy. 2 http://www.itfglobal.org/etf/etf-rivercruise.cfm.

http://www.itfglobal.org/etf/etf-rivercruise.cfm

47

6 Main findings EU IWT labour market

6.1 Sub-sectors and job types

The inland waterway transport sector (IWT) comprises three sub-sectors:

Freight transport; this is the main source of employment in the IWT sector,

most of the regulation is designed for this sub-sector

Passenger transport; this transport is limited and consists of many

arrangements (short or long stay on vessels). It is mainly related to the

tourism and leisure business, however, some of the employment and activities

are accounted to the transport sector.

Ports, mainly function as necessary transhipment points for loads into

vessels. The nature of this can either be a private port (located near for

example a factory or a private terminal for containers) or a public port.

The relevant job types found in the inland waterway transport sector are the

following:

Ship crew

Attendants (passengers only)

Port workers

Management

Back-office

Maintenance staff

Engineers.

Although, there is a lack of reliable data for some countries, the current total

estimate of workers in IWT in the EU27 is 49,600 employees (Eurostat, Transport

in Figures 2011). This figure also includes the owner-operators and part-time

and temporary employment and staff active in passenger transport. Whereas the

maritime transport sector is dominated by large and highly capital-intensive

shipping companies, the IWT sector comprises mainly independent ‘single-

vessel-operating’ family businesses with traditional family crews, supplemented

by hired personnel.

The majority (about 65%) of the employees is active in the Rhine corridor. Other

arteries that are important are the Danube corridor, the Rhone corridor and the

Elbe corridor. In the inland waterway infrastructure network these are the

determining arteries, all other navigable canals and rivers branch to these four

arteries. The regulations for the Danube and Rhine corridors are governed by

specific Commissions that are operating under international treaties between

Member Countries. For example, one of the outcomes of the act of Mannheim,

that is part of the regulation installed by the Rhine Commission, prevents the

taxation of fuel on the Rhine.

In 2010, IWT accounted for 0.5% of the total employment in the sector

transportation and storage (excl. postal and courier activities) as a whole in the

EU 27. That year, in total 49,600 persons were occupied in IWT (against 49,700

in 2009 and 50,900 in 2008). In 2010, these employees were more or less

evenly spread over passenger (23,100) and freight transport (26,500).

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In water transport1 there’s a similar age distribution as there is in land transport.

The share of workers aged 50 years or older exceeds the EU overall share, where

ageing seems to be an issue. Almost three quarters of all employees in water

transport are male.

Eurostat includes port employees in ‘warehousing and support activities’. This

makes it impossible to make a reliable estimate based on this source that is used

throughout the report. Available studies use different sector definitions.

6.2 Data and literature

Data availability for EU IWT labour is limited. The size of the mode plays an

important role in this and many sources (data and literature) combine IWT and

Maritime transport. Moreover, most of the literature is in regards to training.

6.3 Social dialogue

The Sectoral Social Dialogue Committee Inland Navigation comprises the

employers’ organisations European Barge Union (EBU) and European Skippers'

Organisation (ESO) and the employees' organisation European Transport

Workers' Federation (ETF). The Committee is currently focusing on: 1)

Implementation of the sectoral working time agreement; 2) Job profiles; 3)

Harmonisation of manning requirements; 4) Uniform social security legislation;

5) Promotion of inland waterway transport jobs; 6) Improvements of on-board

working and living conditions and access to port-side facilities; 7) Fair

competition.

Safety and environmental issues are being incorporated more and more by the

sector, leading to less need for EU involvement.

6.4 Inland waterway transport undertakings and policies

As mentioned earlier, contrary to the maritime transport sector (dominated by

large and highly capital-intensive shipping companies), the IWT sector comprises

mainly independent ‘single-vessel-operating’ family businesses with traditional

family crews, supplemented by hired personnel. Less demand for transport as a

result of the crisis is having an impact on these businesses. The harder the

market conditions, the less new entrepreneurs will be willing to start an IWT

business. At the same time, some entrepreneurs will undoubtedly be facing

financial problems.2 Older vessel-owner-operators have been forced to delay

their retirement because of the dropped value of the vessels they invested in.

Social partners are of the opinion that EU-regulation 883/2004, determining in which

Member State social security rules apply, does not take into account the specifics

of the IWT sector. This regulation stipulates that this country is either the

Member State where 25% or more of the working time is spent, or the Member

1 Data includes IWT, but Maritime dominates the figures in terms of averages.. 2 European Parliament (2009), The Shortage of Qualified Personnel in Maritime and Inland

Waterway Transport.

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State where the employer is located. According to Commission staff, this is

mainly an issue of compliance monitoring, to be improved by the Member States.

According to EBU and ESO, the main efforts in the field of EU social legislation

should be directed towards better access to the labour market, free movement of

labour, working times, qualifications and coordination of social security. A

specific issue is the need for a customised coordination of social security for the

IWT sector.

6.5 Demand and supply of labour and skills

6.5.1 Panorama 1: Current situation

According to Van der Aa et al., the trend of gradually increasing staff shortages

in maritime and inland waterway transport already began to manifest itself 5-10

years ago in some Member States. So far, the sector has not come up with

strategies for recruitment and human resources development that could halt this

manifestation1. The possibilities to further increase productivity seem limited.

Some experts are in agreement, however, not all. The EESC, as well as ETF also

point out the serious structural labour shortage in IWT. Commission staff, EBU

and ESO state that at the moment the labour market in IWT seems to be in

balance; if there are shortages, they seem to occur mainly in Western Europe. In

the targeted stakeholder consultation, inland waterway enterprises report no

current labour shortages either. Half of them do expect shortages in 2015-2020.

However, there is no hard evidence to support this. It seems most likely that

shortages already existed, but are being mitigated by the crisis.

Ageing of the workforce is however, a growing problem as many current workers

will retire soon and few new people are entering the labour market. Because of

the use of more advanced technologies and advances in logistics, there is an

increase in the demand for higher qualified functions. In addition, a career switch

from sea to inland navigation faces barriers in terms of required professional

competences.

There is a lack of awareness with regards to (job opportunities) in IWT amongst

young people. The problem with raising awareness is partly due to the small

scale of IWT. Furthermore, the sector has an inward oriented character and a

relatively low social image.

6.5.2 Panorama 2: Window 2015-2020

Due to the crisis, entrepreneurs are facing financial problems. Many of them

have made considerable investments in new ships and when freight rates drop, a

number of IWT businesses will find themselves in a difficult position to bear the

capital and running costs. Lower inflow into the profession and the disappearance

1 Aa van der R. et al. (2008), Monitor maritieme arbeidsmarkt 2008, NML, table 2.58.

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of existing businesses, will lead to a relative decline of the fleet expansion and a

decreasing demand for hired personnel in the medium term.

The study compares an employment (demand) scenario for transport-related

occupations in the transport sector with the supply of transport-related

occupations in the economy as a whole. Whereas, demand in the most relevant

IWT related occupations - ships’ deck crew, helmsman, boatman - in the period

2010-2020 show an increase, the labour supply in these occupations decreases

slightly in scenario 1 and increases in scenario 21.

In the long run, this lower inflow will most likely lead to a renewed shortage of

personnel. As mentioned above, half of the enterprises expects this. A lower

inflow ‘now’ means that fewer people will obtain the qualifications to start their

own IWT business ‘in the future’.2 Shortages are once again foreseen. In

particular, shortages are expected for specialisms, such as dangerous goods,

passenger transport and LNG-powered vessels (currently the training and

education cover all aspects, but specialisms are under pressure). A quantitative

view is difficult to give, especially considering the suspicions that manning

requirements are not always entirely fulfilled, making analysis of the actual

situation on the labour market difficult. The largest discrepancies are expected

for ship’s deck officers and pilots and travel attendants and stewards. As most

data covers water transport, this result should be considered with some care.

6.6 Attractiveness of working in the sector

Results from analyses on the European Working Conditions Survey 2010 (EWCS,

Eurofound) show that water transport employees3 score higher on satisfaction

with working conditions and satisfaction with wages, than on motivation to

perform. Of all three indicators, water transport employees score higher than the

total group of transport employees. The freedom associated with the IWT

professions/occupations is an advantage.

Work in IWT is highly mobile and knows long working hours. Willingness and

ability to work and live away from home is needed. Absence from home limits

the possibilities of interaction with family/friends and leisure-time activities. The

most popular working schedule is 2-weeks on, 2-weeks off. By comparison,

periods away from home are longer in the maritime sector.

Other relevant issues in this context:

Physical working conditions are demanding and the work not always safe,

resulting in a comparatively high rate of sick leave.

Salaries in IWT have increased moderately in the past years within Western

Europe and the wages differ approximately between € 14,000 per year for an

ordinary boat man and € 35,000 per year for a boatmaster (2011).

Career building opportunities are limited.

1 Scenario 2 assumes increasing participation of older workers. 2 European Parliament (2009), The Shortage of Qualified Personnel in Maritime and Inland

Waterway Transport. 3 Including Maritime, a much larger mode that dominates the average figures to a large

extend.

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In 2012, the social partners succeeded in making a working time agreement. The

signatory parties then asked the Commission for their agreement to be made

legally binding within the EU. The Commission has recently accepted the

proposal and send it to the Council.

In water transport (including Maritime), 14 fatal accidents occurred in 2011, only

2% of all fatal accidents in transport in EU271. The fatal incidence rate in water

transport was 5.03. So, on average more than 5 out of 100.000 workers in water

transport died in a job-related accident. This is below the average incidence rate

of all EU27 transport in 2011 (5.75).

Just over 3,000 non-fatal accidents occurred in water transport in 2011. In 90%

of those accidents male workers were involved. The number of non-fatal

accidents in water transport is fluctuating in 2008-2011: the number decreased

in 2009, increased in 2010 and again decreased in 2011. The non-fatal incidence

rate of EU27 water transport was nearly 1,100 in 2011; well below the non-fatal

incidence rate of all EU27 transport and even below the non-fatal incidence rate

of the total EU27 economy.

6.7 Education, training and certification

Career paths in IWT are relatively long; to become boat-master it takes 6-9

years, but training paths are generally long even to take up the deck officer

carrier which, on average, takes between 3 to 4 years in education and training.

On the other hand, crew member careers may take between one and three years

depending of country and on specific on-board role.

Job profiles in IWT are still insufficiently harmonised across Europe. There are

problems with the recognition of qualifications; at the moment, each Member

State still applies different standards. Limited comparability of qualification and

certification in IWT is problematic for work mobility (between countries, regions

and subsectors). In the current situation a lot of different certificates – generally

different to compare - are in use. Even the ISCED level required to obtain the

qualification varies sensibly across Europe, both in case of deck crew (between

1st level and 3rd level minimum requirement), officer (between 2nd and 4th level

required depending on the country) as well as for ship engineers, where the

ISCED minimum level required varies between the 2nd and the 4th, as survey

respondents claim.

Member States responding to the survey reported a constant decrease in

qualifications granted during the last three years, which, in extreme cases has

been reported to more than halve them in a few years-time. The issue mainly

concerned ship engineer profession; nevertheless, the deck officer occupational

context seems to evolve alike. Although data are reported only by few Member

States, the situation and trend appear quite undisputable. Deck crew carriers are

less impacted by this trend; still a constant decrease in qualifications granted

has been reported.

1 Non-fatal and fatal incidence rates of individual transport modes in 2008-2010 are not

available.

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The IWT sector is characterised by the presence of small companies where,

often, the definition of training responsibilities among employers and

employees is unclear. Furthermore small companies have little budget for

training and limited opportunities for carrier. As a result of these issues, the

attractiveness to the profession seems to be decreasing over time.

At EU-level the integrated European action programme for inland waterway

transport (NAIADESII, 2014-2020) comprises numerous actions aimed at

promoting transport on IWT. One of the key of areas of intervention is the

development of human capital ("Skilled workforce and quality jobs"). The

implementation of the NAIADES II Programme is supported by the

PLATINA2 platform. Unfortunately, according to EBU/ESO, usually there is

no clear outcome on the results of these types of EU-programmes and

projects.

6.8 Conclusions: bottlenecks and risks

The main problems in the IWT sector labour market that have been identified in

the study are:

Many very small companies: this structure of the market is a problem for

career opportunities and at the same time, has low budgets for training, etc..

Future shortages are expected as IWT will begin to grow again once the crisis

is over. The main reasons behind the shortages are:

Ageing of current employees and ship-owners

Lack of attractiveness of the profession:

▪ Periods away from home

▪ Unknown career opportunities

▪ Lack of female employees

▪ Low sectoral profile

▪ Demanding physical conditions, including long working hours

Limited career building opportunities:

▪ Lack of training berths (not certain; not reported by MS)

▪ High barriers to change jobs

▪ Additional training is sometimes needed to acquire qualifications for

working in other MS.

No continuous recruiting strategies. Schools cannot predict the required

number of students to match demand.

6.9 Policy suggestions

6.9.1 Lack of data

To obtain a clear view on the sectoral developments and to be able to make

reliable forecasts, harmonisation of data gathering and reporting on the IWT

labour market at EU-level is recommendable. Given the small size of the sector,

a dedicated monitor is recommended rather than increasing the number of

observations in the usual EUROSTAT and EUROFOUND data collection. An

important aspect is the expected future need for new employees; in the current

53

situation, schools cannot predict the required number of students to match

demand.

6.9.2 Many very small companies

The large number of SME’s in IWT is a problem for designing strategies for

making the sector attractive, as employers need to meet criteria for

professionalism.

6.9.3 Future shortages

Current employees and ship-owners are ageing. Add to this the recent shortages

and the problems regarding the inflow of new (young) employees and trainees

and it becomes clear that it will be crucial to retain the current employees and

ship-owners. One instrument is improving the quality of labour. In the IWT,

dominated by small and micro enterprises, this requires to a large extent, an

individual approach. A possible solution could be higher wages, business models

that are flexible with regards to personal preferences regarding working time,

etc. Social innovations are required in order to prevent and reduce shortages. At

mode level, it would be good to develop and disseminate good practices of

employability policies. A structural solution should be found with the aim of

building a continuous recruitment strategy, for instance in the form of a shared

funding, to make training of new employees a shared responsibility for all ship-

owners.

Additional legislative measures on manning standards on board maritime and

inland waterway ships were suggested to contribute to quality and safety.

Commission staff points at the current discussion on manning requirements in

IWT. The question of what is needed, in terms of manning safety for the

operation of the vessels, should be resolved. The rules on manning requirements

are safety and not social legislation, nonetheless they can, have a positive effect

on social issues. The topic is on the working programme of the social partners for

2014-2015.

Closely related is the discussion on working time, comparable to the driving time

and rest time rules for road transport. Social partners reached an agreement on

working time, however the Council is currently hampering further progress.

In addition, compliance (by employers) and monitoring of manning practices

should be enhanced. According to literature, inspections that were held in The

Netherlands resulted in large numbers (27%) of violations of manning rules,

mainly pertaining to crews that were too small or underqualified.

Discussing training needs and programmes is one of the tasks of the European

Sectoral Social Dialogue. The Commission may support the exercise through its

funding training programmes. A certain and commonly acknowledged degree of

training standards in IWT is necessary to ensure a better functioning labour

market, but also for safe navigation and to allow a modal shift towards better

use of inland waterways in the European transport in the long term. Language

should be an important element herein. The maritime sector can be a role model

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for the European IWT sector, as mandatory training and certification standards

are already implemented within that sector.

Reducing the barriers for the horizontal inflow would make the IWT profession

more attractive for the labour reserve. Given the increasing number of

unemployed EU maritime ratings, this is a very realistic solution for future

capacity problems. According to experts, the use of simulators would make this

easier.

The EU can furthermore, contribute to reducing future shortages by supporting

or financing (technological) innovations aimed at improving physical and mental

working conditions. Most individual enterprises do not have the time, funds or

knowledge to do this on their own. In addition, (technological) innovations in the

IWT sector make people working within the sector take more pride in their work

and contributes to a better public image of the sector. At EU-level the integrated

European action programme for inland waterway transport (NAIADES II, 2014-

2020) comprises numerous actions aimed at promoting transport on IWT. One of

the key of areas of intervention is the development of human capital ("Skilled

workforce and quality jobs"). The implementation of the NAIADES II Programme

is supported by the PLATINA2 platform.

Whether or not policies (EU or MS) are necessary will greatly depend on further

developments with regards to ownership. Will current, elderly owners be able to

sell their ships in due course? Is it clear to possible buyers that there are career

possibilities and can they find the credit needed to buy the ships?

Campaigns promoting the IWT sector as an attractive sector for building a career

have so far only been initiated at national level. According to the EP, the

launching of a campaign at EU-level could be more effective. However, in the

view of Commission staff, campaigns are most effective when organised by

national labour offices. A good example is the NAIADES initiative ‘Be your own

captain’. There is something to be said for both opinions, however, the main

point is that it is done. Specific groups of interest are women and (unemployed)

EU maritime rating occupations.

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