So now, after years of addressing the problem of cowboy operators, we are left facing the problem of cowboy states. Latvian companies of Kreiss and Dinotrans are minnows in comparison to the Lithuanian companies of Girteka and Vlantana. Both these companiiesweb sites claim a fleet size of 1950 and 1350 vehicles respectively. Both these companies were prosecuted several times in Norway in 2012 for massive hours offences, drivers caught stealing diesel and cabbotage offences. InGirtekas case, some of these fines were NOK 100.000 (+£10,000) a go! A quick search on NRK website (Norways BBC) regarding these operators make for interesting and alarming reading. Both these companies vehicles can be seen on UK roads also. Reasonable to assume that they employ the same tactics here? Of course.
Now, if a Latvian company can employ Fillipino drivers for under 700 Euro per month, whats to stop these Lithuanians doing the same? Well end up with a social underclass on our roads, overworked and underpaid, with severe restrictions on their vehicles mpg (which will explain the diesel thefts, 7 million litres in Sweden last year 
) The rules as they stand have led to this negative trend, both in market conditions and employment conditions, put simply, financial crime, social dumping and mafia type activities. What on earth are the RHA, FTA, Commercial Motor and VOSA doing to highlight or prevent this activity?
Well, heres a link to the 12 point plan that the Norwegian truck owners association (NLF) intend to address these problems with. [tungt.no/transportmagasinet/ ... 820408.ece](http://www.tungt.no/transportmagasinet/article820408.ece) Use Google translate if your Norwegian isnt what it used to be 
I sincerely wish them good luck, and I sincerely wish the UK could be bothered to do something similar. One saving grace that the UK does have, is that we are not as a nation signed up to the Shengen agreement re passport visas… so the Fillipinos wont be arriving on our shores just yet. However, plans are afoot to change the UKs policy on the Shengen agreement.
@ alte hase
Wow, that makes for depressing reading, but thanks anyway for the insight. I wonder what their point was re. the comment of low skill and qualification? What has this to do with cabotage and sourcing staff from the far east? Its a sweeping statement typical of a know nothing politician, a sneering uni professor or anyone else too clever by half. It seems to me that their message is, if youre young enough and bright enough to get out of transport and re train for another career, then do so.
I really don’t see much of a connection between opening the market for cabotage and philipino drivers though
alte hase:
milodon:
I really don’t see much of a connection between opening the market for cabotage and philipino drivers though
I think actually the ‘connection’ is just a very convienient coincidence, having cheap third world drivers in the cab and being able to take full advantage of a transport market that has abolished cabotage will produce the ultimate winning formula for such transport operations, and the ultimate losing formula for driving employment in the ‘invaded’ countries.
^ This.Although it’s obviously a ‘bit’ more than a ‘coincidence’.
Blimey milodon it doesn’t take a genius to understand that.It’s got the grubby paw prints of the German and Chinese bankers all over it.
Which just leaves the question as to how uk transport policy,regarding the shift from road to rail,fits in with all that.Probably no surprise that the next move would be to smash ASLEF an the RMT with imported labour to deal with the obvious ‘train driver shortages’ in the domestic workforce.Which at least might at last stop the British unions’ support of bs socialist workers of the world unite idea and,like the Labour Party,their pro immigration policies and support of uk membership of the EU.
alte hase:
milodon:
I really don’t see much of a connection between opening the market for cabotage and philipino drivers though
I think actually the ‘connection’ is just a very convienient coincidence, having cheap third world drivers in the cab and being able to take full advantage of a transport market that has abolished cabotage will produce the ultimate winning formula for such transport operations, and the ultimate losing formula for driving employment in the ‘invaded’ countries.
Yes, I quite agree. This has already been seen in shipping, so why not extend it to its logical conclusion and tie up the loose ends of this chain, road haulage, with the same winning formula. This is how the powers that be will see it. How about if they introduced flags of convenience? Or maybe they already have, given the number of Dutch and French companies motors I see running around on Polish or Romanian licence plates.