EU LEGISLATION ON THE WORKING TIME OF CREW ON INLAND WATERWAY TRANSPORT

BJELICA VLAJIĆ Iris (Doc. dr Iris Bjelica Vlajić, predavač pravne grupe predmeta u Visokoj brodarskoj školi akademskih studija u Beogradu), iris_bjelica_vlajic@yahoo.com

Council Directive 2014/112/EU endeavored to resolve certain issues that were not regulated by previous legislation since it did not sufficiently take into account the special working and living conditions of inland navigation workers. Bearing in mind that the ship is operated continuously in shifts and that the working time of the ship workers cannot be equated with the total navigation time of the inland waterway vessels, it was necessary to precisely define what is meant by daily, night and weekly rest and how long the resting periods are. The different approaches taken by the Member States while regulating this issue have led to factual inequalities in the position of employees on inland navigation vessels, but also the protection of workers\' health and safety. As this is a predominantly crossborder sector, it was the view of the social partners that protection could be better achieved at the Union level than by Member States\' legislation. Given the geographical location of the Republic of Serbia, the adoption of this Directive is of great importance to all workers and crew members employed on vessels flying its flag. Compliance with the stated obligation is carried out by the competent inspectors of the flag country, as well as the inspectors of the ports at which the ships dock, which is why accurate records of working and rest periods are kept. Records should be available at all times to every employee on board.

Keywords: inland waterways, working hours, resting time, Directive 2014/112/EU