The freight transport employers of the Balearic Islands have shown their concern about the ruling of the High Court of Justice of the Balearic Islands (TSJB) that forces, for the first time in the archipelago, a company to pay as presence hours the time that a driver remains embarked on a ferry to the islands. The measure, according to the sector’s businessmen, will have a direct impact on the final prices paid by the consumer.
The court ruling recognizes as working time the period the driver spends on the ship guarding the vehicle during the crossing, which could open the door to new claims by other workers in similar conditions.
Ezequiel Horrach, representative of the freight transport business group, considers that this decision marks a before and after in the logistics of the archipelago. “If this problem is not solved, it will be the consumer who will end up paying for these extra hours,” he warned Diario de Mallorca.
In his opinion, the judicial criterion breaks with what is applied in road transport, where the driver’s downtime, even if he sleeps inside the truck, is not considered a working day.
An added cost in an already expensive logistics system
From the employers recall that the transport of goods to the Balearic Islands triples the cost of a land route of the same distance, due to the insularity. In addition, maritime taxes have increased by 30% in the last year, which further complicates the profitability of the sector.
“Each new extra cost translates into less competitiveness for the industry and trade of the islands,” Horrach told Diario de Mallorca, who warns that the widespread application of this ruling would make shipments from the mainland even more expensive.
Alternatives that could aggravate delays
One of the possible solutions that the employers will propose to the Balearic Government would be the shipment of platforms without driver, that is to say, to load only the trailers on the ships. However, this alternative would imply an increase in delivery time and the risk of shortage of certain products, as Horrach himself has warned.
The TSJB ruling is in line with other judicial pronouncements that consider crossing time as part of the working day. This interpretation worries companies in the sector, as drivers could start claiming retroactive payments for this type of maritime travel.
Employers insist that the driver “rests and eats” during the crossing
Horrach has insisted that, during the ferry trip, the truck drivers are disconnected from their usual activity, rest in cabins paid by the company and do not receive orders.
“We do not understand that this time is paid as overtime, when even on the road the downtime is not computed as such,” he said.
The sector assures that this judicial criterion distorts the current labor framework and calls for urgent political intervention. “It is essential that someone puts a stop to this situation,” concluded the employers’ spokesman.
