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Professional traffic was a fly on the wall during a group discussion among freight drivers at the YTF representative board meeting in March. The upcoming collective bargaining agreement was on the agenda with the screaming driver shortage as a backdrop. The solution was simple: The most important remedy for the driver shortage is to raise wages. Powerful.
The other party probably realizes this. The issue has been aired both within the Norwegian Truck Owners' Association and among experts within the EU. Nevertheless, there is little indication that wage increases will occur to any significant extent. We predict that employers will continue in the same vein as always and launch all possible alternative "solutions" that will not help.
Worse and worse
What is the situation? Statistics from experts appointed by the European Commission and the International Road Transport Union IRU warn of an accelerating shortage of professional drivers in recent years. In Europe, there is a shortage of nearly half a million drivers, or around ten percent of the total need. The ripple effects are drastic in a world economy dominated by "just in time" thinking.
The outlook is not bright either. A large proportion of existing professional drivers are well-off and will eventually retire, while the recruitment of young people is tenuous in competition with professions that have better working conditions and less stress. The same applies to the proportion of women. In a tight European labor market, the driving profession simply does not appear attractive, a fact that is not particularly disputed.
Drivers from India
The problem has been solved in Norway by using Eastern European drivers, often accustomed to poorer wages and working conditions. Wage developments in other countries have been higher than in Norway, plus the Norwegian krone is weak. Many foreign drivers who have driven in Norway are considering other employers within the EU.
YTF's Danish sister organization 3F reports that Indian workers are flooding into Danish workplaces in large numbers. The Danish government has signed a mobility and migration agreement with India that makes it easier for Indians to work in Denmark. India is now the country with the third largest number of workers in Denmark, only beaten by Poland and Ukraine. It is worth noting that Norway recently signed a major cooperation agreement with India.
Seventeen-year-olds with a truck?
Another fresh proposal from the EU to bring in drivers – without having to pay more in wages? – is to allow 17-year-olds to drive heavy goods vehicles. The existing average age in Europe has so far been 21, although some countries have allowed 18-year-old drivers under special conditions.
Back to the starting point: The driver shortage is not due to the inability to recruit qualified drivers, but is a result of low wages and unattractive working conditions.
