Cross-industry and sectoral social dialogue - Inland waterways

Social partners

Workers' organisations	Employers' organisations
European Transport Workers' Federation (ETF)	European Barge Union (EBU)
	European Skippers' Organisation (ESO)

Social dialogue in this sector covers inland waterway transport.

The activities covered are those most closely defined by the following NACE (Rev. 2) codes:

50.3 - Inland passenger water transport
50.4 - Inland freight water transport
52.2 - Support activities for transportation

Facts & figures

EU-wide, the sector directly employs some 40 000 people, including owner-operators, part-time and temporary workers, staff engaged in passenger transport. About 65% of them work in the Rhine corridor.

Inland waterways are important role for goods transport in Europe. More than 41 500 km of waterways connect hundreds of cities and industrial regions. 20 out of the 28 EU countries have inland waterways, while 12 have interconnected waterway networks.

Inland waterways & the environment

Inland waterways provide an environment-friendly way to transport goodsd – a key aspect of sustainable mobility. They should be used more to relieve heavily congested transport corridors. Measures to boost waterway transport are an integral part of the EU NAIADES action programme.

Key areas & projects

The Committee is currently focusing on:

establishing uniform rules on social security legislation
improvements in on-board working & living conditions & access to port-side facilities
recognition of professional qualifications
standardisation & modernisation of crewing requirements
promoting fair competition (establishing recommendations & a social code on fair transport)
implementing Council Directive 2014/112//EU throughout the EU.