Advancing social justice, promoting decent work
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Promoting decent work and road safety for truck drivers of GMS countries
Governments, employers and workers from the Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS) agree to enhance decent work by promoting social dialogue, skills development and cross-border coordination in road freight transport.
BANGKOK (ILO News) – The GMS road freight transport industry generates considerable value to national economies and provides a significant number of job opportunities. Appropriate road freight transport policies can bring further competitive advantages to the GMS region.
Yet, “decent work deficits, concerns regarding road safety, the shortage of skilled professional drivers, pressure on the supply chain from economic employers and considerable challenges with cross-border transport can hold back the development and sustainability of the sector” representatives of an ILO- supported tripartite sub-regional meeting stated in Bangkok, Thailand.
The meeting was organized by the ILO and brought together representatives of governments, employers and workers from six GMS member States: Cambodia, People’s Republic of China, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand and Viet Nam.
Regulation, driver shortage and pressure of supply chain management practices
Recommendations of the sub-regional meeting evolved around three issues:
- promoting the development and alignment of national regulations applicable to the sector (including working time regulation and enforcement, transit and insurance documents, vehicle configurations and import requirements, the carriage of dangerous goods, training and licensing standards);
- enhancing working conditions, diversity and welfare facilities for truck drivers also with a view to address shortages of skilled truck drivers, and
- acknowledging that economic pressure from supply chain management practices influence worker earnings, enterprise profitability and road safety practices in the industry.
“Welfare facilities should be adequate, accessible, affordable, clean, safe and secure and include parking, bathrooms, showers and resting areas”, representatives added in their final recommendations.
The ILO was requested to support GMS efforts to promote decent work and cross-border collaboration in the important sector, i.e., through research, knowledge sharing, capacity building and development cooperation projects.
