Inland waterway transport

Period of validity of the Collective Agreement

This Collective Agreement is valid for an indefinite period (Clause 18)

Personal and material scope

Scope (Clause 1)

This Agreement shall apply to:

• Mobile workers employed as crew-members or in another position (shipboard personnel) on board a vessel operated by a company whose head office or a branch office thereof is located in the territory of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg in the commercial inland waterway transport sector.
• Mobile workers who work on board a vessel operated in the territory of a Member State outside the commercial inland waterway transport sector, and whose working conditions are governed by employers’ and employees’ organisations in the form of collective agreements, may be included in the scope of this Agreement, in consultation with these organisations and subject to their consent, in so far as the provisions of this Agreement are more favourable to workers.

The inland waterway transport sector not only employs workers but also uses self-employed workers. Self-employed status is determined in line with the national laws in force.

In the event of deviating national or international provisions on waterway safety concerning rest periods, the provisions which are more favourable to the employee shall apply.

However, the following are not regarded as workers: Inland waterway transporters, even if they have worker status in their own company.

The organisation of work varies within the sector. The number of workers and their working time on board varies depending on the way in which work is organised, the company in question, the region of operation, the length of the voyage and the size of the vessel.

• Some vessels sail continuously, i.e. 24 hours a day, using shift work.
• Medium-sized companies in particular generally operate their vessels for 14 hours a day, 5 or 6 days a week: the working time of workers on board cannot be equated with the operating time of a vessel in inland waterway transport.

This Agreement shall be without prejudice to national or international provisions relating to waterway safety applicable to mobile workers and to the persons referred to in [the] paragraph

Definitions (Clause 2)

For the purpose of this Agreement:

• "Vessel" means a watercraft or buoyant apparatus;
• "Passenger watercraft" means a day trip watercraft or a cabin watercraft constructed and equipped to carry more than 12 passengers;
• "Inland waterway transporter" means any person freely operating inland waterway transport vessels for commercial purposes on their own account;

Working time

Definitions (Clause 2)

• ‘Working time’ means the time during which a worker is working, scheduled to work or must be available to work (on-call time) on and for the vessel on the instructions of the employer or the employer’s representative;
• ‘Rest period’ means any period which is not working time; it includes rest periods on a moving vessel, on a vessel at anchor, and on land. It does not include short breaks (of up to 15 minutes);
• ‘Rest day’ means an uninterrupted rest period of 24 hours which the worker spends in a place of their own choosing;
• ‘Night time’ means the period between 23.00 and 6.00;
• ‘Night worker’ means:
  
  • any worker who works at least 3 hours of their normally worked daily working time during the night time;
  • any worker who is liable to work a certain part of their annual working time during the night time, as defined either:
    • By national law, or
    • By collective agreements or agreements made between social partners;
• ‘Shift worker’ means any worker whose work schedule involves shift work;
• ‘Mobile worker’ means any worker employed as a member of the mobile staff by a company which operates services for transporting passengers or goods by inland waterway; references to ‘workers’ in this Agreement shall be interpreted accordingly;
• ‘Season’ means a period not exceeding 9 consecutive months in any 12-month period, during which the exercise of certain activities is related to external factors, such as weather conditions or tourist demand.
• ‘Duty roster’ means the table containing the planned working days and rest days communicated to workers in advance by the employer;

Average working time in the inland waterway transport sector usually includes a significant amount of on-call time (in particular as a result of unplanned waiting time at locks or when loading and unloading the vessel), including during the night. The maximum daily and weekly working times which are laid down may therefore be longer than those stipulated in Directive 2003/88/EC.

Working time and reference period (Clause 3)

Working time

8 hours/day;

Reference period and maximum working time

12 months: during this reference period, an average of 48 hours/week may not be exceeded.

The maximum number of hours worked during the reference period after deduction of paid annual leave and statutory public holidays* shall be 2 176 hours.

* Granted periods of paid annual leave and periods of sick leave are not taken into account or are neutral when calculating the average. Rest periods due in respect of statutory public holidays have already been deducted when determining the maximum number of working hours.

For employment relationships lasting less than the reference period, the maximum working time shall be calculated pro rata temporis.

Daily and weekly working time (Clause 4)

The number of hours worked

must not exceed:

• 14 hours in any 24-hour period
• 84 hours in any 7-day period

Where the duty roster provides for more working days than rest days

An average of 72 working hours per week may not be exceeded over a period of 4 months.

Working days and rest days (Clause 5)

Maximum number of consecutive working days: 31 days

Where the duty roster provides for a maximum number of working days equal to the number of rest days

A number of consecutive rest days equivalent to the number of consecutive working days shall be granted immediately after: It is possible to grant a number of consecutive rest days other than the number specified provided that:

• The maximum number of 31 consecutive working days is not exceeded,
• The minimum number of consecutive rest days given below* is granted immediately after the corresponding consecutive working days,
• And the number of working days extended or exchanged is balanced over the course of the reference period.

Where the duty roster provides for more working days than rest days*

The minimum number of consecutive rest days immediately following consecutive working days shall be as follows:

• 1 to 10 consecutive working days: 0.2 rest day per consecutive working day
• 11 to 20 consecutive working days: 0.3 rest day per consecutive working day
• 21 to 31 consecutive working days: 0.4 rest day per consecutive working day

In this calculation, fractions of rest days are added to the minimum number of consecutive rest days and can only be taken as full days.

Rest periods (Clause 7)

Workers must have regular rest periods that are long and continuous enough, the duration of which is expressed in units of time, to ensure that workers do not present a danger to themselves, to fellow workers or to others and that they do not harm their health, either in the short term or in the longer term, as a result of overwork or irregular working patterns.

The duration of rest periods must not be shorter than:

• 10 hours in any 24-hour period, including at least 6 hours of uninterrupted rest,
• 84 hours in any 7-day period

Seasonal work in carrying passengers on inland waterway vessels

By way of derogation from the provisions of Clauses 4 and 5 above, the following provisions may be applied to any worker in seasonal employment on board a passenger vessel (Clause 6).

The number of working hours must not exceed

• 12 hours in any 24-hour period, and
• 72 hours in any 7-day period

Rest day

Workers shall be entitled to 0.2 rest day per working day. At least 2 rest days must actually be granted in every period of 31 days.

Remaining rest days shall be granted as agreed by the parties.

Rest day compensation

Rest day compensation and compliance with the average weekly working time of 48 hours referred to in Clause 3 must be ensured in accordance with collective agreements or agreements made between social partners or, in the absence of such agreements, national legislation.

Break time (Clause 8)

Cases where the daily working time is more than 6 hours

Workers are entitled to a break, the terms of which, and in particular the duration thereof and the conditions for granting, shall be laid down in collective agreements or agreements made between social partners or, in the absence of such agreements, national legislation.

Maximum working time during night time (Clause 9)

Night time of 7 hours over a period of 7 days

The maximum number of working hours per week: 42 hours.

Monitoring (Clause 12)

• In order to ensure compliance with the above provisions, the daily working time and rest period of each worker shall be recorded in a register.
• This register must be kept on board until at least the end of the reference period.
• The data recorded shall be jointly checked and validated at appropriate intervals (no later than by the end of the following month) by the employer or the employer’s representative and by the worker.

The data recorded shall include at least the following information:

• Name of the vessel,
• Name of the worker,
• Name of the boatmaster in charge,
• Date,
• Working day or rest day,
• Beginning and end of daily working or rest periods.

Workers shall receive a copy of the validated data relating to them, which they shall keep for 1 year.

Right to leave

Annual leave (Clause 10)

Provided for by the legal provisions in force.

The organisation of working days and rest days, as provided for in the duty roster, includes periods of paid annual leave and rest periods due in respect of statutory public holidays.

Health, safety and hygiene

Medical (Clause 14)

All workers shall be entitled to an annual health check free of charge.

 In the health checks, particular attention should be paid to symptoms or conditions that could be linked to minimum daily rest periods and/or minimum number of rest days granted during work on board.

Night workers suffering from health problems recognised as being linked to performing night work must be transferred, whenever possible, to day work for which they are suited.

The free health check is subject to medical confidentiality and may take place within the framework of public healthcare institutions.

Work pattern (Clause 16)

An employer who plans to organise work according to a certain pattern must take account of the general principle of adapting work to humans, in particular with a view to alleviating monotonous work and work at a certain rate, depending on the type of activity and health and safety requirements, in particular with regard to breaks during working time.

Other points (including sector-specific provisions)

Emergency situations (Clause 13)

The boatmaster of a vessel or their representative shall have the right to require a worker to work any hours necessary for the immediate safety of the vessel, persons on board or cargo or for the purpose of giving assistance to other vessels or persons in distress.

The boatmaster or their representative may require a worker to work at any time for as long as necessary until a normal situation is restored.

As soon as is practicable after a normal situation has been restored, the boatmaster or their representative shall ensure that all workers who have performed work in a scheduled rest period are provided with an adequate period of rest.

Monitoring Committee (Clause 19)

As part of the multi-sector agreement, a Monitoring Committee has been set up, composed of at least two members on both sides. This Committee is responsible for:

• Checking the implementation of the multi-sector agreement;
• Thoroughly examining all contentious issues that have not been resolved at staff delegation level.