It has been found that, in general, age is a determining factor in the loss or decline of cognitive abilities, and that some transport workers may face challenges in their daily lives due to changes in vision, reaction time and ability to concentrate.
According to representatives of the trade union confederation of workers’ commissions (CC.OO), they state that age can be a determining factor in the decline of physical and cognitive abilities. For this reason, they stress that it is unsafe both for drivers and for passengers and other road users for a person aged 65 or 67 (the current ordinary retirement age) to drive a vehicle for more than 8 hours a day in stressful and dangerous working conditions, exposed to bad weather and traffic.
The trade unions CC.OO and UGT have called for a protest on 7 June at 12 noon in front of the headquarters of the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration in Madrid. The aim of the demonstration is to demand the implementation of measures to allow early retirement for workers in this sector.
For the second time, they will demand a demonstration for early retirement, coinciding with the date of the previous year’s call, which has now become the day of the struggle for this cause. These workers are demanding a reduction in the coefficients for hardship, dangerousness, toxicity and other factors, which they claim is a possibility that exists and is provided for in the Social Security Law.
For more than ten years, the transport of people and goods by road has been considered a priority sector due to its high accident rate and exposure to risk factors. For this reason, the aim is to achieve legal coverage of reduction coefficients for early retirement.
Among the factors associated with this profession that intensify at older ages are chronic fatigue, sleep disorders, cardiovascular and respiratory problems, stress, exposure to pollutants, extreme temperatures, ergonomic risks and musculoskeletal disorders, forced postures and osteoarticular disorders, exposure to noise and vibrations, social isolation, psychosocial risks and the difficulty of reconciling work and family life.
The organisers argue that this is not about privileges, but about justice and respect for a profession that is in danger of disappearing because of its terrible working conditions.
They also stress that there is a great inequality between drivers in other modes of transport, such as rail, aviation and maritime, who have enjoyed reduction coefficients for years, while in the road transport sector they have not been given the same treatment.
Without fair working conditions, they say, there will be no new generation of workers and early retirement is a way to improve the dignity of the profession and achieve social justice.
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