We’re still at the ITF – International Transport Workers’ Federation Congress, where today I introduced a motion on ‘The Rights of Transport Workers’, which was approved unanimously by all Congress delegates.

Our rights are under attack. The fundamental rights that our movement, our colleagues, our friends, our sisters and brothers have fought and died for again need our protection.

For decades we have seen the forces of the free market try to take away our right to strike, our right to protest, and our right to collectively bargain.

Privatisation, subcontracting, hedge funds, tax cuts, spending cuts – these are the weapons of greed and profiteering we continue to resist against every day.

But today, an old enemy has re-appeared.

The far right has regrouped. They exploit inequality and choose to blame the most vulnerable.

These thugs—sometimes wearing uniforms, sometimes wearing suits—have marched on our streets before. Again, they threaten our rights and endanger peace and justice.

We defeated them before. We shall defeat them again.

We shall unite to defend our right to decent work, to a safe working environment, to a welfare state with well-funded public services.

How do we do this?

Sisters and brothers, today, on behalf of the ITF Executive Board, I am proud to move a motion that leads the international fight for our rights.

This motion demands an organising strategy for all workers—informal, migrant, temporary, precarious, gig workers and all other non-standard forms of employment.

Because we know we are only as powerful as the weakest, most exploited link in our chain of solidarity around the world. An injury to one, is an injury to all.

This motion demands that we lead a global campaign of solidarity action to defend the right to strike.

Our right to withhold our labour is as old and important as the ITF itself.

The ITF began 128 years ago when maritime workers went on strike in solidarity with workers overseas that most had never met.

This motion demands that we develop and support your strategic litigation and law reform efforts, to defend and expand our rights in the courts.

We see the weaponisation of the courts and judiciary in most countries around the world. We cannot stand idly by whilst our legal systems are turned against us.

This motion demands that we empower internationalism and lead by example in the United Nations system, challenging the nationalism and violence of the far right.

We are a critical part of the biggest democratic movement in the world – the international labour movement. So we have a responsibility to help rebuild our international institutions.

We gave the world the weekend. We gave the world pensions, maternity leave, holiday pay, health and safety, social security.

We now need to give the world the living wage, freedom from violence and harassment at work, the right to sanitation facilities for all workers, the right to a safe commute home from work.

We must ensure our children, and our children’s children enjoy these rights, remembering that we fought for them.

And that is why, brothers and sisters, we move this motion today.

Today, on the “Shaping the Future of Work” panel, I shared how BTB has tackled the challenges of the platform economy. I discussed the key lessons we’ve learned from our agreement with Uber and how we’ve approached Amazon and other platform companies.

Curious about BTB’s approach? You can read all about our insights below.

How has BTB responded to the challenge posed by the platform economy.? What are your next steps?

I am glad to have the opportunity today to talk to you about a topic that is reshaping the landscape of labor— the platform economy.
As we all know, the world of work is evolving rapidly, driven by technological advancements and the rise of digital platforms. Recent studies predict that by 2025, there will be over 43 million platform workers in the EU alone — a 52% increase in just three years. This rise in platform workers represents a profound shift in the way people work, but also in the way we, as trade unions, must operate.
Platform workers often face precarious conditions. Their wages and working terms are far from secure, this leaves them vulnerable. It is not just a question of defending their rights; it is also a matter of safeguarding the future of our own organizations. If we aim to grow and maintain our influence, we cannot overlook these workers. We must adapt and expand our strategies to include them, despite the complexities of their employment status.

My own experience within the BTB union has shown just how challenging this can be. Platform workers do not fit neatly into the traditional frameworks we have relied on for decades. They are often categorized as freelancers or independent contractors, making it hard for them to see themselves as part of a collective workforce. This means we need a major shift in mindset—not just for the workers, but for us as unions too.

From the beginning, BTB has chosen not to wait for platform workers to come to us. Instead, we actively sought them out, organizing roadshows —wherever they come together, be it outside Amazon warehouses, at Uber rider hotspots, or even at local meeting points where they take a break. Our roadshow approach has been instrumental, allowing us to connect directly with workers on their terms, showing them that unions are here to support them, regardless of their employment status. We now apply this same approach in others sectors such as the port industry where it is also successful.

This strategy, however, has not been without its challenges. Take, for instance, our efforts to support Uber drivers. Traditional taxi drivers initially saw and some still see Uber as a threat, and this created friction even within our own ranks. But we stood firm in our belief that every worker deserves representation and protection. Whether they work under a conventional employer or a platform, the goal is the same: fair pay, safe conditions, and respect for their work.

Negotiating with a multinational like Uber to represent its drivers does not mean we support their business model. On the contrary, we see these workers as regular employees who should have the same rights as anyone else. We will continue to lobby to ensure these workers receive the recognition they deserve. We will not abandon them to fend for themselves, just as we wouldn’t with any other transport worker facing exploitation.

What lessons have we learned from our engagement with Uber and other platform companies?

From our engagement with Uber and similar companies we learned first of all that it’s undeniably tough to navigate the complex legal and operational frameworks of the platform economy. Many platforms simply refuse to acknowledge their workers as employees, making it a fierce battle. But as unions, we are used to fighting employers. We have learned that “difficult” is not an excuse to back down.

Second, we cannot ignore such a significant and rapidly growing part of the workforce. With over 40 million people soon working through platforms, representing them is not optional—it’s our duty.
In conclusion, the platform economy is not just a new arena for labor rights. It is a test of our relevance and resilience. It challenges us to rethink how we organize, how we reach out, and ultimately, how we protect those who need us most. By meeting platform workers where they are, by adapting our methods, and by standing firm in our principles, we will ensure that no worker, whether gig or traditional, is left without a voice.

Today, I had the honor of addressing the ITF Road Section, outlining the key priorities for the next five years.

You can read my full speech below.

Brothers and sisters,

Talking about the priorities for the Road Section for the coming years is talking about about protecting and empowering workers in the road transport industry.
The challenges we face are urgent, and recent events have made that clearer than ever. Take, for example, the truckers’ strike in Grafenhausen, Germany. Eastern European drivers were forced to endure appalling conditions—living for months in their trucks, denied their wages, and treated with complete disregard by exploitative subcontractors. These drivers had to strike just to demand what was owed to the: their salary. It was a fight for dignity, a reminder that exploitation remains rampant in our industry.

Our 2024-2029 strategy is built on three pillars: Expanding Membership, Exercising Power, and Transforming our Industry.

First, expanding membership. We must strengthen unions, especially in regions where organizing is difficult. Being close to workers, understanding their struggles on the ground, is key to growing our movement. We see this across Europe and around the world.

Second, exercising power. We need to focus on where we are already strong and expand to other sectors — especially warehousing, logistics, and e-commerce. Companies like Amazon, DHL, and UPS dominate the supply chain, and by organizing workers here, we can set industry standards. Our campaigns to hold these companies accountable, as some affiliates are already doing with Amazon, show that our collective power can improve conditions not just for a few, but for all.

Finally, transforming the industry. This is about making road transport an attractive and respected sector with decent working conditions. We need Safe Rates as a standard for everyone. Truckers should never have to fight for wages that are rightfully theirs. And, we must ensure better conditions for women and young workers by improving access to sanitation and safe parking facilities.

Our Global Safe Rates Campaign and our push for supply chain legislation will help drive these changes. By targeting key players in the global logistics industry, we can raise standards across the board. And by focusing on women’s inclusion, we can create an industry that is truly equal and respectful.

Together, with your solidarity and commitment, we will expand, we will exercise our power, and we will transform this industry into one that provides safety, fairness, and dignity for all.

Brothers ans sisters, our slogan is « we move the world ».
Well Brothers and sisters, let us move the world and make it a beter place for transport workers!

Speaking today at the ETF Logistics Conference! It’s a privilege to stand alongside fellow union leaders and experts as we discuss the future of logistics and the challenges we face in this crucial sector.

You can read my speech below.

Welcome to this logistics conference organised by the European Transport-workers’ Federation.

In fact, this is our second logistics conference! 3 years ago, we kicked off the ETF work in logistics at this same place, here in this very room.

At that first conference, we already emphasised on the importance of the logistic sector for transport workers! It was a very important day for the ETF, very energising for all of us. Finally, after years of discussions, we decided that we had to look at what unites us, rather than at what divides us, in the interest of the workers we represent.

Logistics is the part of transport where all our unions are growing in terms of membership. My own union BTB is growing in membership constantly, and we realised this mostly by our growth in the logistics sector. <cijfer invoegen> cijfers opgevraagd bij Koen. No less than 16,5% over the last 5 years.

As we will have a chance to discuss later today, it is also the sector where more concentration of power is happening. We are facing giant companies, managing the whole supply chain and beyond. Yesterday I investigated how much staff Amazon employs worldwide. It is over 1,5 million! And chat GPT also told me that the business turnover is 575 billion dollars! Important enough to unions to work on that kind of companies, isn’t it?

The same company Amazon uses an anti union surveillance system, called SPOC (geoSPacial Operating Console) that tracks organising efforts by unions, and uses this system to organise reactions by the line managers.

And there is very little governance from the national governments and from the EU. EU is failing to developing legislation on logistics, to stopping unethical subcontracting, to stopping social dumping, to stop ping the race to the bottom in our logistics sector.

So non-respect of labour rights and working conditions, abusive subcontracting, exploitation are very common. And this has to change!

And as ETF President I can tell you that I am very proud of the work that we have been doing since our first conference! Over the last three years, we have got more and more relevance in our work. When I talk about relevance, I mean that we are doing things that are meaningful for the workers we represent.

Since then: at ETF we have a person in charge, a full plan, new ideas, a logistics manifesto.
We had a European action day on 4th of October 2023 with actions in Sweden, the UK, Italy, Spain, Belgium, …
ETF participated to a subcontracting action day 2 weeks ago in Straatsburg. T, together with two other European federations with 750 participants demonstrated before the European Parliament.

And this weekoday my uinion BTB is organizing leafletting actions in 70 … companies, in support of this conference!.

ETF organized trainings, coordination, research projects, concrete support to members,

We developed company networks, with strong links with EWCs, in companies like CEVA, FEDEX, UPS, Amazon, …

By doing so, we are occupying space and finally are being the voice of workers in logistics.

And the other good news is that we managed to do all of this in full cooperation with ITF. So we are happy to have our General Secretary General of ITF, Stephenve Cotton, with us today!

As we need knowledge and expertise, we are also building a network of experts around us: labour lawyers, experts in new technologies, trainers, sociologists, researchers… Some of them will take the floor today.

To do all this, we need collective intelligence and brains, and we need the power and determination that we use on our most important battles.

So I am very happy to be here today, and I am sure you’ll all be very active and make today a moment to exchange and build ideas and synergies.

And do not forget, b Brothers and sisters,
USWE, the transport workers do have the leverage to organise the logistic sector.
USWE, and only USWE, the transport unions have the power.
The muscles and the guts to kick open the doors of the logistic companies open.

So to Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, and other big shots in the industry
I promise: watch out, ETF and ITF are coming!
to stand up and to fight back!

The ITF is launching a global action week for Safe Rates from Aug. 26 to Sept. 1, 2024. The action week marks a pivotal moment in road transport safety with the introduction of Australia’s comprehensive new Safe Rates system.

This legislation, supported by the government, workers, and industry stakeholders, sets fair pay and conditions for the entire road transport sector, including the gig economy. It’s a significant step towards making our roads safer and ensuring sustainable working conditions.

Below you can find the speech I gave at the conference in Australia.

Let me first tell you that for BTB this “safe rates” campaign is a combination of multiple factors.

• Safe rates
• Road Transport Due Diligence
• Economic employers’ accountability

And it is a possible solution to end social dumping in Europe

The principle of safe rates is important in Europe nowadays. That is because of two very important elements in the European transport sector today: the booming of the transport and logistics sector and the “import” of cheap labour in the transport sector.

Speaking about the booming of the transport and logistics sector: 75% of transport operations in Europe are done by road. So road transport is crucial for the economy. However employers talk about a shortage of drivers, because they can not find enough workers to drive the trucks. In Europe there are actually 233.000 vacancies for professional drivers. Jobs that could be created, but there are no workers available to fill in the jobs. There are even predictions about 745 000 open jobs in 2028.

Even employers’ organisations have to admit that this lack of drivers is not only due to a booming market, but mainly because older drivers retire and young workers are not willing to fill in the open jobs.
In our opinion, drivers’ shortage is a false way of looking at the problem. We rather mention the shortage of “good jobs”. This explains the fact why young people do not want to work in our industry. They are discouraged by the low wages, the bad working conditions, the long working hours and the extreme flexibility. We have to emphasize that in well-paid sectors there is no shortage of staff. There is no problem in finding people willing to work as a docker in Belgium for example.

And then there is the problem of import of cheap labour by the employers. We talk about social dumping in road transport. This is encouraged because of the race to the bottom on the transport prices. Transport must be cheaper and cheaper. The working conditions and the wages of the drivers are the first to experience the negative effect of this race to the bottom.
In Europe social dumping is frequently organized in the transport sector by transport companies hiring drivers from cheap labour countries. It started with Eastern European workers driving in Western Europe, but with Eastern European wages and working conditions.

Then came the so called “third country” drivers, workers from countries outside of the European Union.

Today we even talk about African and South-East Asian truck drivers working in Europe for wages and working conditions far lower than the standard.

I can give you the example of 100 drivers in Liège, who were sacked via a Whatsapp message by a subcontractor of Amazon called KM Group. Amazon lowered unilaterally the transport price they pay to the subcontractor. The consequence was that the subcontractor could no longer transport the goods for the price Amazon was willing to pay.

Another example is that of the Gräfenhausen strike, where for the first time in history East European drivers went on strike against the Polish transport companies Lukmaz, Agmaz and Imperia, all owned by the same owner by the way. They went on strike because they were not payed as it should be, and because of bad working conditions.

These subcontractors were in fact operating for big multinational companies like Ikea, Volkswagen, DHL, LKW Walter, Sennder and CH Robinson.

I can tell you about 300 Philippino drivers recruited to work in Europe. Our Danish colleagues from 3F discovered a facility where 300 drivers were staying during the weekend. The exploitation of these workers by human trafficking was largely documented by 3F and ITF.

Recently we heard that Kenyan drivers are recruited to come to work in Europe on false promises. The reality is that, when they come to work in Europe, they will be the victims of exploitation.

This social dumping kills the transport sector and makes working conditions even worse. It makes staff shortage even bigger. Who wants to work in a sector where exploitation is becoming more and more the standard instead of the exception?

The big question now is what strategies European unions can follow based on these observations?

• We need to go for a better legislation on a national and on a European level.
• We need to interpell employers and employers’ organisations.
• We need to go after the “clients” in the transport sector, the so called “economic employers”.

To enforce a better legislation on a national and European level also means that on a national level, we have to negotiate higher minimum wages and push the governments to put more resources in social and labour inspections.

On a European level we have negotiated the Mobility Package to fight social dumping. We can now also use the European Platform Economy Directive to clean up the sector. But we also need to put more effort into control and enforcement. ELA, the European Labour Authority, is actually not able to play the role of a real European inspection service, so on that level, there is work to be done.

Also on a European level we need to interpell the employers to higher the wages in the sector by means of sectoral negotiations. We need to negotiate with employers’ organisations to create a level playing field to end social dumping, which is much more than false competition.

Both my union, BTB, and the European Transport Federation ETF, are working on this. We talked with IRU (international transport employers’ organisation) and several other employers’ organisations about the safe rates campaign, pointing out the advantages for them. This dialogue already started in 2023 and is still continuing with different meetings planned the coming months.

We will need to go after the “clients” or the “economic employers” in the supply chain. Multinationals like I already mentioned before (Ikea, Unilever, BMW, Danone, …) must take responsibility for what happens in their supply chain.

We must “blame and shape” the bad operations, like we already did with Ikea.

The foundation, financed by ITF, gathers facts and figures about the multinationals’ supply chain to confront them with the real practices for which they are also responsible.

For us, the ITF Safe Rates Campaign is an instrument to tackle the problems I just enumerated.

Safe rates guarantee a salary that ensures the workers of a decent income, enabling drivers to pay their bills at the end of the month.

Safe rates exclude the hyper-flexibility, unreasonable overtime, … and thus create more road safety.

Safe rates need to be guaranteed or supported by legislation.

Transport companies need to be forced to follow the safe rates legislation.

Safe rates will force economic employers to pay the correct price for transport and logistic operations.

Safe rates need to be controlled by governmental inspection services and trade union inspectors.

Yesterday 65 BTB shop stewards gathered in Brussels for a “safe rates” conference, which means that my union is fully engaged in this “safe rates” campaign.

Hereby I do confirm that BTB will fully stay engaged in this important ITF campaign.

Today I had the opportunity to address the ITF Africa Regional Conference in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire and give some insight into how my union BTB have demonstrated global solidarity in Africa by listening to the voices of transport workers and working together to combat multinational employers.

You can read my full speech below.

Hello comrades,

I bring you the most fraternal greetings from my union in Belgium
UBT/BTB
The Union of Belgian Transport Workers.
52,000 trade unionists affiliated to my union salute you!

And I’d like to start my speech with a joke
When I arrived in Côte d’Yvoir a few days ago
I wasn’t the only Belgian visiting the Côte d’Yvoir
There was also the Queen of Belgium
who arrived to visit this country
But we weren’t on the same plane
And we had other priorities
I chose to be with you.

I’m going to speak in French
I had thought of doing half and half
French/English
But that’s less comfortable for the interpreters
And since we are on the Côte d’Yvoir
I’ll speak in French.

I would also like to convey to you the most fraternal greetings
from the European Transport Workers’ Federation.
I would like to remind you that
The ETF represents more than 5 million workers,
200 trade unions in 38 European countries.

I am here as President of the ETF,
and I am accompanied by Livia Spera, our General Secretary.
On her behalf too, I’d like to thank you for your warm welcome
for your warm welcome and hospitality.

I have to tell you that I am very happy to see so many friends in this room,
because I have friends in Africa.
They are all friends I have known for a long time.
Comrades whom I have met through working together
with many trade unions in Africa.

You should know that I’ve been visiting Africa
at least once a year since 2015
To visit the two projects that my union has
in that continent.

So this African affiliates conference is not a first contact for me,
nor a one-off event,
No, it’s an extension and confirmation of numerous contacts with African unions.

Because my trade union organisation
the UBT/BTB, has been involved in ITF cooperation projects since 2015,
and we did so at the request of Steve Cotton, the ITF General Secretary.

And I want to tell you that for me, for us,
solidarity is not just a word
we say at our meetings.
The solidarity that I, my union and the ETF advocate,
translates into concrete action.
Some people like to talk about solidarity,
but we want to put it into practice
In collaborative projects that strengthen the unions
Involved in these projects.

That’s what prompted us to respond favourably to the ITF’s call.
Not because we think we should be paternalistic and come here to Africa in Côte d’Ivoire or Kenya and tell you what to do.
Quite the opposite.
If we are here, it is also to listen to you and we are convinced that by working together,
my union, the UBT and your unions,
you and we can all learn,
exchange good ideas,
share good practices, give each other ideas
and develop strategies together.

We also believe that everyone has the right to live happily
in the country where they were born.
And we believe that everyone has the right to a decent job,
a good job in the country where he or she was born.
And we also believe that everyone has the right to be respected in that job and to be able to work in good conditions
with a decent wage that pays the bills at the end of the month.

My brothers and sisters,
I had the opportunity to visit the ports of Mombassa in Kenya
and Abidjan in Côte d’Ivoire,
I visited car parks in Kenya and Côte d’Ivoire.
I visited logistics depots in Nairobi,
I spoke to airport staff in Kenya and Côte d’Ivoire.
I spoke to port workers, lorry drivers, bus drivers and taxi drivers in various African countries.

And it’s true that there are differences between the situation in Europe and that in Africa.

But I also found that the challenges facing transport workers
are not so different.
We are all faced with the same multinationals, such as Bolloré, Boluda, Kuhne&Nagel, DHL, Amazon, Uber, and so on.
We are all confronted with the exploitation of workers
and employers who do not respect workers.

We are all faced with digitalisation, artificial intelligence, automation…

We share the same problems.

So we have a choice, my brothers and sisters:
either we meet all these challenges in our own country,
or we can do it together, in the knowledge that we are stronger when we work together.
Employers and multinationals have an international strategy,
If they have one, we must have one too.

Comrades, grand speeches are all very well,
but I believe that true solidarity is measured
by what we build together in everyday life.

And I tell you, comrades, I promise you that UBT, BTB,
the ETF,
Livia and I will continue to build together with our African friends.
In the years to come, you won’t just hear us talking about international solidarity. You’ll see us on the ground, with concrete projects, acts of solidarity, a presence on the ground. You will see that you have friends in Europe, just as we know that we have friends in Africa.

An African trade unionist from the Kenya Dockers’ Union taught me an African proverb:
if you want to walk fast, then walk alone,
but if you want to walk far, walk together.
And that’s what we’re going to do in the coming years.
Walk far, so walk together.
Together, we are strong!

Viva the ITF
Viva the African unions
Long live international solidarity.